


Sound of the Underground

by mandzipop



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV), The Vampire Diaries - L. J. Smith
Genre: Angst, Doppelganger, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Mating Bond, Oral Sex, Romance, Soulmates, Vaginal Sex, Vampires, Witchcraft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-03-09 22:12:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 69,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18926026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mandzipop/pseuds/mandzipop
Summary: Elena, Caroline & Bonnie are sent by Grams to a witch in the dangerously supernatural city of New Orleans, to trigger Bonnie's hidden magic. And to experience the nightlife. None of the girls believe in the supernatural until they are thrust into its jaws & meet those who will transform their lives forever. Secrets reveal a hidden threat to Elena's life. M for mature content.





	1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

**This is mainly a Delena story, however other relationships are explored, but only on the surface.**

**This is not a crossover, but there are characters from The Originals who will have minor roles. I needed some vampires, so I have used existing characters.**

**Quick explanation regarding turning werewolves into hybrids. In my story, doppelganger blood isn't required to create hybrids or break Klaus's curse. Klaus changes a werewolf in the way he originally thought it would work in the show by feeding them his blood and killing them, then thy have to feed on human blood to complete the transition.**

**Also, there are no sire line issues in my story.**

**As I am publishing this chapter, it means that this story is almost half written. As it isn't a long story, I hope to finish writing it within the next two weeks.  
**

**I will start writing my other stories again, however they need to be reread by me which is easier said than done. It is easier just to write a shorter story than to go back into one. However I do intend for The Pastor's Wife to be completed this year.**

**I hope you enjoy the story. My normal disclaimer regarding explicit content will apply later in the story.**

Elena, Bonnie and Caroline stood in the arrivals area of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International airport, waiting for their luggage. They were there on an all expenses paid trip to New Orleans, courtesy of Sheila Bennett. Bonnie hadn't told them the purpose of the trip as frankly, she was a little embarrassed and highly skeptical of what her Grams had told her, however that didn't stop Caroline from pressing her once more.

"I'm confused." Caroline frowned. "Are you psychic or clairvoyant?"

"Technically, Grams says I'm a witch." Bonnie replied. "My ancestors were these really cool Salem witch chicks or something. Grams tried to explain it all, but she was looped on the liquor so I kinda tuned out. Crazy family, yes. Witches? I don't think so." she told her.

"Well, lucky for us, we get a free vacation out of it." Caroline grinned.

"It's not meant to be a vacation." Elena chided. "We're here to support Bonnie when this woman who we are meeting triggers her magic." she said as she pulled her green suitcase off the baggage belt.

"Who cares?" Caroline shrugged. "We still get to have a free vacation, whether this woman can trigger magic or not."

"If you're meant to be a witch, why aren't you one already?" Elena asked Bonnie.

"Apparently it requires a supernatural threat to kick start it." Bonnie explained. "It appears my lack of interaction with the supernatural is why I'm not one yet. Grams said the witch in New Orleans knows how to trigger it without putting me in any danger."

"Good job!" Caroline stated. "I'd want extra money if it were dangerous."

"Care!" Elena exclaimed. "I think it's good of Miss Sheila to pay for all of us to go in the first place. No need to get greedy."

"As long as my life in not threatened, I'm fine with it." Caroline nodded as she and Bonnie pulled their suitcases from the baggage belt.

"Let's go find Nandi!" Bonnie smiled as they set off to meet the woman who was to help Bonnie.

They headed outside to the agreed meeting point, wheeling their luggage behind them. All three were on the lookout for a sign saying Bennett. Eventually Bonnie was a woman holding up her a card with her name written on it. She nudged Elena and Caroline and the three of them walked over to the woman, who looked to be in her forties or fifties.

"Are you Nandi? Bonnie asked.

"I am." Nandi smiled. "I'm guessing you must be Bonnie. Sheila has told me all about you." she said before turning to Elena and Caroline. "And you must be Caroline and Elena." she added. "I'm glad Sheila sent you with Bonnie. She's going to need the support of her friends when her powers are triggered." she told them.

"We're pleased we can be of some help." Elena nodded.

"Anything to help Bonnie get through this difficult time." Caroline agreed as Elena threw her a look of disgust at her blatant lie.

"And I believe it was also your twenty first birthday last week." Nandi smiled at Elena.

"It was." Elena nodded.

"Well I think a belated celebration is in order." Nandi told her. "I know of a few places where you girls might like to go and celebrate." she said. "We'll talk about it later. Lets get you to your apartment." she said and turned to walk off. Bonnie shrugged as the three of them followed Nandi to what appeared to be her car.

Two hours later, they were sat in an apartment within the French Quarter of New Orleans, with Nandi drinking an unusual flavored herbal tea, while the older witch was explaining how she would trigger Bonnie's powers.

"Bonnie's magic needs to appear before she is twenty one, otherwise she will never be able to practice, and any children she has will not inherit the ability to practice magic." Nandi explained. "Even if Bonnie never wants to practice herself, the Bennett witch line must continue, and there are only two witches left who can continue the lines. Bonnie and a distant cousin called Lucy. Unfortunately Lucy has fallen in with the wrong crowd and might never be an option, so it all Falls on your shoulders." she said staring at Bonnie apologetically.

"Why does the line have to continue?" Elena asked.

"Certain powerful spells have been cast by Bennett witches in the past." Nandi explained. "If the spell needs reversing in the future, it will require the magic of a Bennett witch." she said.

"Can't another witch do it?" Caroline frowned.

Nandi shook her head. "A spell sealed by a certain type of witch and only be unsealed by the same type of witch." she explained. "Usually it is a coven, however the Bennett witches are descended from a very powerful witch who had her own magical practices. Only a witch how has access to that magic can use that magic, and in the Bennett witch case, the magic is passed on through the family line only."

"So how is it unlocked?" Bonnie asked.

"Your magic can be unlocked when you encounter a supernatural enemy." Nandi told them.

Caroline raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Supernatural enemy?"

"Usually a vampire or werewolf." Nandi nodded.

"There's no such thing." Elena laughed.

"Isn't there?" Nandi asked, her face deadly serious.

"Then how come we don't know about them?" Bonnie asked.

"Mystic Falls is a small town." Nandi told them. "It has a rich supernatural history, and Sheila expected you to encounter a vampire or triggered werewolf there. However it appears there aren't any. Or any that can be deemed a threat to humans." she added with an afterthought.

"Aren't vampires and werewolves always a threat?" Bonnie asked.

"In truth yes." Nandi nodded. "But a vampire who doesn't feed from human blood won't trigger your magic. Neither will a werewolf who hasn't triggered their curse." she explained.

"What would a vampire feed from if not from humans?" Elena frowned.

"From the blood of animals." Nandi replied. "They are rare, but there are a few known cases." she went on. "However, there are vampires who feed from humans who have friendly relations with the witch community here in New Orleans." she explained. "They will sense your magic immediately and won't hurt you, although your magic will still be triggered. The magic cannot detect the difference between a friendly vampire who drinks human blood and an enemy."

"So are you going to introduce us to a real life vampire?" Caroline asked, clearly trying to keep a straight face, suggesting she didn't believe a word the woman was telling them.

"Before we do anything too drastic, I think you should have a night of fun." Nandi smiled, turning to Elena. "As it was your twenty first last week, I can suggest a great club to go to." she smiled.

"No offense Nandi, but our ideas of a good club might differ." Caroline interjected. "And Bonnie and I don't have any ID." she added.

"I'm already onto it." Nandi smiled. "I'll bring them later. This club is the hottest place in town, if you know about it of course." she smirked. "It is where the locals go. No tourists would ever know about it unless they were invited or sent by a local. Just cus I'm older doesn't mean I'm outta touch." she smirked. "I get to hear about it from my great granddaughter, she loves the place."

"Great granddaughter?" Bonnie frowned as Nandi nodded with a smile.

"How old are you?" Caroline frowned.

"I'm ninety two." Nandi told them as they looked at her open mouthed.

"Bonnie." Caroline said. "We need that magic of yours triggering immediately. Just imagine looking young almost forever." she grinned.

"Be careful what you wish for." Nandi said to Caroline, her smile had disappeared and was replaced with a distant, yet sad expression.

"Okay." Caroline said slowly.

Nandi then seemed to come back to her senses. "So I'll be back in a couple of hours with your fake ID's. If I were you, I'd start to get showered and ready to go." she added as she got up and left without so much of a goodbye.

They waited a few moments before Caroline decided to speak first.

"Well she's a little creepy." she said.

"I think she's nice." Elena disagreed. "Maybe a little eccentric, but that's it."

"Do you believe her about her age?" Caroline asked Bonnie.

Bonnie shrugged. "Maybe. Grams never went into much detail about the magic." she said. "She told me I couldn't learn much until my powers were triggered."

"Well either she's had the best facelift ever, or she's talking a load of crap!" Caroline declared.

"I thought you wanted Bonnie to access her magic quickly to help you stay young looking." Elena frowned.

"I was being sarcastic." Caroline sighed.

"Look, let us just get ready to go to the club." Bonnie suggested. "If the magic thing is real, I'm going to need a night of fun before meeting a real life vampire." she said.

"At least we'll have all day to recover from any hangover." Elena laughed. "That's if the myth about vampires only coming out at night is true." she added.

"Shouldn't we do as Nandi says and start to get ready for this club we're going to?" Caroline asked. "I'm going to need at least two hours to get ready." she said.

Elena and Bonnie nodded. They hadn't been to a proper club outside of Whitmore, where they were college students. They couldn't go to any in Mystic Falls as everyone knew Bonnie and Caroline were underage. To make matters worse, Caroline's mom was the Sheriff and her boyfriend Tyler's father was the mayor. They already had fake ID with them as they had already planned to go out that evening, but they knew they'd have to use the one Nandi gave them, because if she really were a witch, then she might know if they didn't use them, and turn them all into toads or something.

When Nandi returned two hours later, the three girls were ready to go. She handed Bonnie and Caroline their fake ID, as they were still under twenty one. Nandi then gave all three girls a black card with the name and address of the club, and a note on the back saying "Invite from Nandi LaMarche." alongside their own names.

"It gets you in for free and distinguishes you from a random tourist who may have stumbled on the club." she told them.

"Is it invite only?" Elena asked as she looked at both sides of the card. The plain writing was in blood red along with a red rose underneath the name of the club, which was called The Underground.

Nandi shook her head. "No." she told them. "But anyone who goes in without an invite is fair game to any of the vampires." she warned.

"Fair game?" Caroline raised an eyebrow.

"The vampires aren't allowed to feed from humans who are invited." she replied.

Elena swallowed. "Will there be vampires there tonight?" she asked.

Nandi shrugged. "Who knows?" she replied. "Marcel is out of town, so he definitely won't be there."

"Marcel?" Bonnie narrowed her eyes.

"Marcel is the vampire who runs the French Quarter." Nandi explained. "He works under Klaus who is in charge of the entire city." she told them. "Although technically Klaus isn't just a vampire, he's a hybrid."

"A hybrid?" Bonnie asked.

"He's a cross between a vampire and a werewolf." Nandi told them. "He's very dangerous, but I doubt he'd be at the club. I'm not sure a club is the right place for a one thousand year old vampire to be." she said. "But this club is the safest place you can go for a night out. Anywhere else, a vampire can hurt you, but not in The Underground, not if you have an invitation." she added.

Elena looked at Bonnie and Caroline with trepidation. They'd all made fun of the stories they'd heard, however Nandi was now putting names to the vampires. If they did actually exist, the thought of going out at night was terrifying.

"Maybe we ought to stay in." Elena suggested.

"What?" Caroline exclaimed.

"We'd be safer during the day." Elena replied.

"Why is that?" Nandi asked.

"Werewolves only come out at a full moon and vampires don't walk around in the sunlight." Elena said, her voice filled with hope which was quickly dashed when Nandi began to laugh.

"There are no werewolves in the French Quarter." Nandi told her. "Marcel had difficulty keeping them under control after a few of his vampire friends were bitten by wolves and died from it. Klaus offered the wolves a choice, live out in the Bayou or become one of his hybrid minions. None of them wanted to be one of his slaves, so they moved out to the Bayou. But if one is caught in the city and bites a vampire, the wolf is turned into a hybrid." she explained. "Some vampires are able to walk around in the day, so don't be fooled by them only being able to come out at night. I'm currently arranging for you to meet a vampire tomorrow in the hopes to trigger Bonnie's magic." she continued. "However, if there is one or two at the club tonight and they get close enough, well that should render any meeting needless."

"How will we know if Bonnie's magic has been triggered?" Elena asked.

"You'll know, and so will any vampire in the club." Nandi told them. "They like to keep on the right side of me, so they will probably help get her home and won't be of any threat to you whatsoever. You have nothing to worry about." she smiled before clapping her hands and standing up. "I'm holding you girls up from a wonderful evening. I called you a cab which should be here any minute. If her magic is triggered, call me. It doesn't matter what time it is. Get her back here and I'll come as quickly as I can to help with the initial stages." she smiled as Bonnie, Caroline and Elena looked at each other with worried faces. Nobody had warned them about what would happen to Bonnie if it was true about her.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. "That'll be your cab now." Nandi told them, ushering them out of the apartment and downstairs to the bright yellow cab which was waiting for them. They climbed inside as Nandi waved at them. "Have fun." she smiled as the taxi set off.

"The Underground." Bonnie told the taxi driver.

"Yeah, I know where you're off to." he told them. "Did Nandi give you invites?" he asked.

"Yeah." Caroline frowned.

"Well, you'll be safe and sound in there. Anyone with an invite gets protection from anything that goes bump in the night. Human or otherwise." he smiled as he turned left up a small one way street.

Ten minutes later they pulled outside what looked just like another house, except this had gates to what could possibly be a driveway or a garage.

"That's the entrance." the taxi driver pointed to the gates. "Knock three times and walk in. it's early so the gates are only open to invites right now. Locals will arrive laters, they are also protected. Then the gates open and it looks like a club from the outside and the tourists who spot it can go inside." he told them.

"Thank you." Elena smiled. "How much?" she asked, opening her purse.

"No charge." the taxi driver told them. "The club pays for the invites." he said as they got out of the cab. "Have a nice evening." he called out and quickly drove off, leaving the three of them stood outside the plain black painted, wooden gates.

"So who's going to knock?" Elena asked.

"I'll do it." Caroline sighed as she walked up to the gates and knocked on the door three times.

Elena and Bonnie joined her as a small window opened in the gate and the face of a guy, probably in his late teens, with dark hair peered through.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"We have an invitation." Caroline told him.

"Hand them over." the man told them as Elena, Bonnie and Caroline handed him their cards. He examined them for a moment and looked up. "ID?" he asked as they passed over their ID's. The man looked at them suspiciously, but said nothing before handing their ID's back to them and opening the gate.

When they stepped inside, nothing could have prepared them for what they saw. First of all, they were in a yard which was filled with candles and red roses. Secondly the sign for the club was exactly the same as what was written on the card and far more impressive as the name 'The Underground' was written in neon with open doors underneath. Thirdly the man at the gate now had a huge smile plastered all over his face.

"Sorry about the stern look." the man said. "My name's Josh and I'm here to welcome you to The Underground." he said offering his hand out to shake theirs, which they did. As soon as Bonnie touched his hand she coughed a little, and Josh's eyes flew up to hers as he smiled a seemingly impossible bigger smile. "You can go on in." he told them.

"Don't you need to stamp our hand or something to confirm we came as invites?" Bonnie asked.

"It's my job to keep track of the invites." Josh told them. "I'm only expecting two more tonight." he explained. "The club opens to the locals in fifteen minutes, and the owners know who they are." he said.

"So wait, you are our protection?" Caroline said. "Seriously?" she looked him up and down with disgust.

"Not just me." Josh explained. "All of the people who need to know the invites will see you, including, most importantly, the bar. It's free drinks all night for invites." he smirked.

Caroline looked at Bonnie and Elena with a grin on her face before turning back to Josh. "You are suddenly my new best friend." she grinned.

"Better not tell my boyfriend." Josh whispered. "He might get jealous." he added as the girls all laughed before headed inside the club for the very first time.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

Elena, Caroline and Bonnie slowly walked down the dimly lit corridor of the entrance to The Underground. Music could be heard in the background, but nothing too loud. However as they were likely to be the first there, that wasn't much of a surprise. They took in the black velvet walls which surrounded them, with the occasional silken red rose intertwined into the material.

Eventually they made their way inside the club, which was smaller than they had expected. There was a raised area which looked to be where the private seating was allocated. There was a balcony which overlooked the dance-floor, probably for the VIP's. Near the seating area was the bar. At the opposite side of the room was a small stage where they could see a well equipped DJ setup. The stage was only just large enough for a band. In the middle was the dance-floor.

Elena looked up and saw the ceiling was mirrored. The black velvet theme with the red rose intertwined extended throughout the walls, occasionally interspersed with either a mirror or a black and white print of old movie stars. Music was playing quietly in the background when she heard more voices behind them. When she turned around she saw Josh welcoming two others whom she presumed were the invites to the the club Josh mentioned earlier. As Elena turned to face her friends once more, she was met with the face of a young man in a cap.

"Hi I'm Thierry." he introduced himself. "I take it you are Nandi's invites?" he asked.

Elena, Bonnie and Caroline simply nodded in response to his question.

"Great." Thierry smiled. "Follow me." he offered as he walked up three stairs to a horseshoe shaped cubicle, which faced the dance-floor. In the center was a table with a red button in the middle.

"What's this?" Bonnie asked pointing to the button as she started to cough once more.

"I'm your personal server and protection, along with Josh." Thierry explained. "Press the red button if you want anything and I will get it for you, at no cost." he added as he looked at the still coughing Bonnie with concern. "Would you like a glass of water?" he asked as Bonnie nodded profusely.

"Can we have the cocktail list?" Caroline asked as Thierry handed over three booklets, while they sat down.

"You don't need to worry about your belongings should you wish to dance." Thierry smiled. "They're under my protection. Nobody will touch them." he said.

"That's good to know." Caroline smiled as she looked at the cocktail list. "I'll have a mojito." she told him as he scribbled down her order in a small notebook.

Elena browsed the menu. "I'll have a margarita." she smiled as Thierry wrote her order in his little book and turned to Bonnie, who was still coughing, however she pointed to Elena to confirm she wanted the same.

"So that's two Margarita's and a Mojito." Thierry clarified as the girls nodded. "I'll get you a glass of water first." he smiled at Bonnie and walked off to the bar while the girls got themselves comfortable and Bonnie finally stopped coughing.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked Bonnie who was breathing heavily after her bout of coughing.

"Yeah." Bonnie frowned. "Something was tickling my throat."

"I'm sure the Margarita will cure that for you." Caroline winked as Thierry brought over a glass of water and quickly made off back to the bar.

Bonnie took as sip and coughed once more. "That's better." she sighed. "I'll be fine in a minute." she nodded.

"Well, I could get used to this." Caroline grinned as she ran her hands along the crushed black velvet of their seat. "This is the life I want to lead after college. Someone to be at my beck and call at all times." she smiled.

"I don't think Tyler quite fits the Bill." Elena laughed. "I just can't imagine him being so under the thumb." she said as they all laughed with her at the image of Tyler doing everything Caroline wanted.

"I guess." Caroline sighed dramatically. "We can't all have pussy whipped boyfriends like Stefan." she stared at Elena.

"He's not pussy whipped." Elena replied defensively.

"Seriously?" Caroline raised an eyebrow. "If you asked him to massage your feet straight after a five mile run before you took a shower, would he do it?" she asked.

"Oh come on." Elena looked at Caroline pointedly.

"Elena, just admit it, Stefan does everything you ask and agrees with everything you say." Bonnie shook her head. "Doesn't it get a little boring?"

"And Jeremy doesn't?" Elena asked Bonnie.

"No!" Bonnie shook her head. "I wish. Have you ever asked him to do the dishes?" she asked.

"He wouldn't know where the dishwasher was." Elena replied.

"Exactly!" Bonnie folded her arms looking satisfied with Elena's response, before starting to cough once again.

"Are you getting sick?" Elena asked.

"Drinks!" Thierry called out as all three girls nearly jumped out of their skin while he placed their drinks in front of them. "Just press the red button and I'll come right away and take your next order." he smiled before disappearing towards the bar.

"Well that wasn't creepy at all." Caroline stated as all three girls suddenly burst into laughter. "But seriously Bonnie, I think you might need to get that checked out when we go back home." she added.

Bonnie nodded. "If it hasn't gone by then I'll talk to the doctor." she promised.

Caroline raised her glass. "Here's to having a wonderful evening, Elena's belated twenty first birthday, and having the opportunity to ogle hot guys without our boyfriends breathing down our necks."

"Care!" Elena laughed. "Why would be ogling hot guys? Aren't our own boyfriends hot enough?" she asked.

"Well you can speak for yourself." Caroline replied. "Admittedly, Stefan is probably the hottest guy to have ever stepped foot inside Mystic Falls, like ever. But we don't all have the luxury of such hotness as you do. And who knows, you might see someone here who's even hotter." she smirked.

"And what do you plan on doing if we do find these men of mass hotness?" Bonnie asked.

"We ogle and if we get lucky, we dance with them." Caroline replied. "We don't have to take things any further than that, if we don't want to. Dancing is not cheating!" she declared.

"True." Bonnie nodded.

"What happens in The Underground, stays in The Underground." Caroline declared.

"Fine!" Elena sighed, knowing full well she wouldn't be dancing with anyone else other than Bonnie and Caroline. Although dancing with another guy wasn't technically cheating on Stefan, her possible wishful intentions were mentally cheating and she wasn't sure she wanted to go down that route.

As the girls continued to chatter, they noticed the club slowly filling up with what they could only assume to be locals who were around their age group. The music had gotten louder, the strobe lighting was all around and the dance-floor was quickly beginning to fill up. They agreed that Nandi was right after all. This club was definitely their scene.

True to his word, Thierry kept their drinks coming with amazing efficiency. Therefore two hours and three more cocktails later, Caroline started to try and persuade them to dance.

"Seriously. This is a club not the Mystic Grill." she shouted over the music. "It's too loud to talk and we're too far from the dance-floor to check out the male real estate of New Orleans."

Elena and Bonnie looked at each other before Elena replied. "We'll dance, but I have no intention of dancing with a hot guy." she shouted. "You can if you want Care, but I'm not."

"Me neither." Bonnie agreed with Elena. "Elena and I will dance together while you flirt with the hot guys." she laughed.

"I guess we better let Thierry know." Caroline grinned as she pressed the red button on the table. Within seconds, Thierry appeared out of nowhere. "We're going to dance." Caroline told him.

"I'll keep your things safe." Thierry smiled as the girls got up and headed towards the dance-floor.

The dance-floor was packed as they got there and started to dance to the music. At first they stayed together, but it wasn't long before Caroline wandered off to dance with a well dressed blonde haired guy. Elena and Bonnie looked at each other and laughed. They knew Caroline would never actually cheat on Tyler, and their drinks were being protected by Thierry, therefore there was no risk of them being roofied. Anything they did was entirely by choice, meaning as much as the guy might want more, he'd have to settle for just a dance with her.

Suddenly Bonnie's jaw dropped in shock, just as she started to cough once more. The next thing Elena knew was she felt a tapping on her shoulder and warm breath in her ear.

"Katherine?" a man's voice came from behind her. Elena almost froze as that was the first thing Stefan had said to her when he met her. The man's voice was certainly not Stefan's, but Elena did wonder if he was talking about the same woman as Stefan had, who it turned out was an old friend from years back and from a distance Elena resembled her, but up close looked nothing like her.

Elena turned around to face the man behind her. It took all her might to keep herself in check as he was by far the most attractive man she'd ever seen. He had raven black hair and icy blue eyes that you could get lost in, fanned by dark lashes, making him look like he was wearing eye liner and mascara. He had razor shark cheekbones which most women would die for. He wasn't just handsome, he was beautiful, if it was possible to describe a man as beautiful.

"No...um...I" Elena looked around her to make sure he's wasn't talking to someone else. "I'm Elena." she replied.

The man frowned with confusion. "Oh, you...you just look...I'm sorry, you just really remind me of someone." he narrowed his eyes for a moment before holding his hand out for Elena to shake it. "I'm Damon." he introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you Damon." Elena smiled nervously as she took his hand.

"Would you like to dance?" Damon smiled seductively as she heard Bonnie cough behind her.

Elena turned around to check on her friend who was chatting to a dark haired guy before turning back to Damon. "Not to be rude or anything, but I have a boyfriend." she admitted.

"I'm not proposing marriage." Damon joked. "It's just a dance."

"Well I'm with my friend." Elena said as she turned back to Bonnie.

"Oh I think Enzo will take good care of her." he smiled.

Realizing she had been backed into a corner, Elena sighed. "Fine! As long as Enzo doesn't try any funny business with my friend, she's dating my brother." she agreed as she held out her hand to dance with Damon.

Damon twirled Elena around and placed her arms around his neck as they began to move their bodies together to the music. Damon frowned for a moment as they danced before he spoke into Elena's ear.

"I don't think you have a very clever boyfriend." he told her.

"What makes you think that?" Elena scoffed.

"Because if he were, he wouldn't have let you come here without him. I know I wouldn't let you out of my sight if I were in his position." he told her, his face deadly serious. "Why are you here?" he asked. "I take it your an invite."

"We have business in New Orleans." Elena replied, not wanting to reveal the true reason they were there.

"Nandi?" Damon asked. Elena nodded, wondering if he already would have an idea what it was about if Nandi had sent them.

Damon didn't say another word about the matter. He just pulled Elena in tighter to his body as Calvin Harris's Feel So Close came on. They were practically intertwined, and Elena could feel the hard contours of his body which were hidden under his designer black shirt and jeans. Elena drank in his scent, which seemed to do things to her she'd never really experienced before. It was more intoxicating than alcohol. Her core ached with desire for him, as she uncharacteristically wanted to rip his clothes off right there and then. Elena hadn't even felt that way about Stefan. There was something dangerous about Damon as opposed to Stefan who was kind and safe. Damon stared at her in the eyes, making her heart beat rapidly, almost out of her chest.

Just as Elena was feeling completely overwhelmed, Damon's attention seemed to drift elsewhere. Elena hoped it wasn't another woman as she'd decided she wanted Damon all to herself for the rest of the night, regardless of her relationship status. Damon suddenly stopped dancing, his face grave and full of worry. Elena turned around to see what he was looking at. She was shocked to find Bonnie passed out in Enzo's arms.

"Quickly...get her into my office before she takes half of the club down!" Damon exclaimed as Enzo picked Bonnie up bridal style and Damon pulled Elena along with him.

"What's going on?" Elena asked, her voice full of panic.

"Her magic has been triggered." Damon told her as they reached a door which Damon opened and ushered them all inside.

"How?" Elena cried as Damon looked towards the dance-floor.

"Klaus, bring the girl to my office." Damon said into seemingly nowhere before closing the door behind them.

The room was very large, and very different to the rest of the club. The walls had dark wood paneling and a wooden floor to match. There was a large fireplace and an expensive looking Persian rug on the floor. There was a red couch and two matching chairs near the fireplace. At the other end of the room was a large bookcase and a cabinet. In front of the bookcase there was a large wooden desk, housing a computer monitor, keyboard and mouse. Near the couch was a wet bar, at which Damon was pouring himself a drink while Enzo gently placed Bonnie down on the couch.

"Want one Enzo?" Damon asked, as Enzo nodded in reply. Damon poured out another glass of amber fluid. "Elena?" he asked. "Do you want a drink?"

"What is it?" Elena frowned.

"Bourbon." Damon told her.

Although Elena hated bourbon, she nodded gratefully and took the glass from Damon before sitting down on one of the chairs opposite Bonnie to wait for Caroline to arrive with Klaus. Suddenly realization hit her as she remembered Nandi mentioning someone called Klaus who was supposed to be the vampire who ran New Orleans. If what Nandi said was true and he really was a vampire, she was about to share a room with someone who was supposed to be a real life vampire. And if Bonnie's magic had really been triggered, there had to be a vampire somewhere in the vicinity. That thought alone caused Elena to begin to shake.

"Is that _the_ Klaus?" Elena asked nervously.

Damon nodded.

"But isn't he..." Elena looked around furtively. "A vampire?" she whispered, hoping she didn't sound like an idiot.

"Technically he's a hybrid." Damon told her. "A vampire crossed with a werewolf."

Elena began to shake. "Will he kill us?" she asked.

"Why would he do that?" Damon frowned.

"He's...a vampire. They kill people." Elena said, panic rising in her voice. "Aren't you scared?"

"I'm more scared of your friend right now." Damon told her. "In a few minutes, her magic will be unleashed, and any supernatural creature who would be deemed a threat will be temporarily taken down with an extreme headache." he said.

"So Klaus won't be able to hurt us?" Elena asked. "Bonnie will protect us?"

"Bonnie will protect you." Damon nodded, causing Elena to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Klaus must have been what triggered it." Elena shook her head.

"Oh I doubt that." Enzo spoke for the first time, his accent clearly identifying him as British. "I think I might have been the one to have the honors." he grinned turning to Damon. "If I was interested in writing stupid diaries like your idiot of a brother, then I might have recorded that I was the one to trigger the magic of a Bennett witch." he said proudly.

Elena's face fell. "Wait...you're a vampire?" she asked, suddenly terrified.

"Of course love." Enzo nodded. "Do you really think I have this effect on every woman?" he asked before turning to Damon. "Don't answer that!"

Damon held his hands up. "Not for me to say." he laughed.

Elena looked at Enzo in horror, before turning to Damon. "He's a vampire!" she stated.

"We all are." Damon smiled. "Don't worry, we won't bite. Not even if you wanted me to, I couldn't." he told her seductively.

Elena gulped. "Why not?" she asked, the words barely a whisper.

"Because Nandi fed all three of you vervain before you got here." Damon laughed. "Vervain is poisonous to vampires." he assured her, before sitting on the chair opposite her and putting his hand gently on her knee. "Besides, I could never hurt you." he said, his face momentarily confused by his confession.

The moment was short lived as the door swung open and Caroline entered the room with the blonde haired man she'd been dancing with.

"Oh my god... Bonnie." Caroline cried, rushing over to her friend.

"Lock the door." Damon told Klaus.

"Is it lead lined?" Klaus asked as Damon nodded.

Suddenly Bonnie cried out. Her back arched and her eyes flew open, however they were white. Her arms were stretched out wide as she screamed.

"Is she in pain?" Elena asked, turning to Damon, however he had fallen off his chair and was clutching his head in pain.

Elena looked to Enzo and Klaus, who were also on the floor clutching their heads and crying out. When Elena looked back at Damon, she noticed something which took her by surprise. He was wearing a ring, almost identical to the one her boyfriend Stefan wore, which he'd told Elena was a Salvatore family heirloom. Elena began to shake. Both Stefan and Damon had initially thought she was someone called Katherine, and now it appeared they were wearing almost identical rings. Something was not adding up.

As quickly as it had started, Bonnie's screaming stopped. Her body relaxed and her eyes closed once more. Meanwhile, the three vampires in the room had stopped clutching their heads in pain and were back to their normal selves once more.

"Finally another Bennett witch who hasn't fallen under the clutches of Katerina." Klaus smirked, Elena noticing he also sported a British accent. "Although it does appear Bennett witches have a penchant of being attracted to a Petrova doppelganger." he said looking at Elena knowingly.

"What's a Petrova doppelganger?" Elena asked nervously.

"I called you Katherine when we met, remember?" Damon asked as Elena nodded. "Well the Petrova doppelganger's are all almost identical." he explained.

"Wait." Elena frowned. "Are you saying there is another woman, walking the earth somewhere, who looks exactly like me?" she asked.

"She's not exactly a woman." Klaus snickered. "She's a five hundred year old vampire."

Elena clamped her hand over her mouth. Stefan calling her Katherine was no coincidence, he must have met this vampire himself. She was just grateful he was alive.

"Are you okay?" Damon asked Elena.

"When my boyfriend first met me, he also thought I was called Katherine." Elena admitted. "Luckily she didn't kill him."

"If she didn't kill him she must have slept with him or turned him." Damon shrugged.

"Stefan isn't a vampire. I'd know." Elena told him confidently. Damon, Klaus and Enzo suddenly looked at each other.

"His name is Stefan?" Damon asked.

"Yes." Elena nodded.

"Does he have a ring like mine?" Damon asked.

"You know him?" Elena asked, sounding slightly surprised.

"I should hope so. He's my brother." Damon smiled.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

Elena looked at Damon in utter disbelief. Had she heard him right? He had just stated her boyfriend was his brother. It wasn't possible. Stefan had always maintained he had no other family.

"Stefan didn't tell me he had a brother." Elena looked at him in confusion.

"Well, Stefan's not one to brag." Damon smiled.

"Stefan said he had no other family." Elena insisted.

Damon smirked. "I'm sure he did."

Elena looked at him with annoyance, wanting to wipe that smirk off his handsome face. "Why would he lie to me?" she asked.

"Did he tell you he was a vampire?" Damon asked.

Elena scoffed. "How can Stefan be a vampire? He's been around Bonnie, he'd have triggered her magic." she said pointing to the still unconscious Bonnie on the couch, who was being attended to by Caroline, a very concerned looking Enzo and Klaus, who seemed more enraptured with Caroline than anything else.

"I'm guessing Stefan is still munching bunnies." Damon frowned. "He wouldn't trigger Bonnie's magic if he wasn't feeding from human blood. A surprise, I may add as I thought he was still with Katherine. But clearly my spies mistook you for Katherine." he shrugged.

Elena still didn't believe him. Stefan wasn't a common name, but she wondered if he was getting him confused with someone else.

"What is your last name?" Elena asked.

"Salvatore." Damon replied. "Stefan and I come from Mystic Falls." he added for clarity.

Elena was stunned. "He can't be a vampire." she whispered. "He wouldn't lie to me like that."

"Clearly he did." Damon sighed. "Maybe he didn't want you to find out he had a much more handsome older brother." he smirked.

"Seriously?" came Caroline's voice from behind. "Don't you think Bonnie should be more important than boyfriend drama right now?" she asked. "Have you got Nandi's number?"

"I'll call her." Klaus smiled before looking over towards Damon and Elena. "By all means, continue, I'll call her from the loo, I need to go anyway." he added as he walked through a door into what appeared to probably be a bathroom, leaving Elena confused.

"Why would you need a bathroom in here?" Elena asked Damon.

"So the ladies can make themselves look presentable after they've spent a some time in here with Damon." Enzo piped up from behind Elena, earning him a glare from Damon.

"A vampire who has a healthy diet of human blood, functions pretty normally." Damon corrected Enzo. "We can still eat human food, and it has to go somewhere. And we still like to drink. In fact, we need to drink coffee to keep our body temperatures warm, and we drink alcohol to curb the cravings..." he started.

"And to get drunk." Enzo added.

"Our bodies work similar to yours, except for supernatural strengths and our healing abilities. However, we can't procreate." Damon admitted. "Although we love to try." he added slyly when suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Come in Thierry." Damon called out as Thierry walked in with Elena, Caroline and Bonnie's belongings.

"Here boss!" Thierry smiled as he handed over their purses to Damon.

"You're off duty now." Damon smiled back at Thierry. "The accidental tourists should be arriving soon, have fun." he grinned.

"Thanks Damon." Thierry smiled back and walked out of the door.

"Is Thierry a vampire too?" Caroline asked.

"Yup!" Damon replied.

"I wonder if that's why Bonnie was coughing whenever he was around." she continued. "Although he didn't have such a profound effect on her as Enzo."

"Well, I do have a reputation to uphold." Enzo smirked. "But admittedly, she was very quick to react to me. Never seen a witch transition so quickly." he frowned as he looked down at Bonnie with a look of concern, and what appeared to Elena to be almost akin to affection, although she suspected that was impossible. They hardly knew each other. However, he then crouched down and much to Elena's surprise, took Bonnie's hand in his.

At that moment, Klaus returned from the bathroom and walked directly over to Caroline. "Nandi should be here in a few minutes." he told them. "She's going to take Bonnie to her apartment to watch over her for the night. Enzo, she said you're fine to join them as long as you take some supplies for yourself with you." he said.

"I've got some in the freezer." Damon said. "You can take a few bags. That should keep you going until morning when she wakes." he added.

"Why can he go and not us?" Caroline protested.

"Bonnie's transition happened too quickly." Klaus explained. "She wasn't coughing in Enzo's presence, which means her body didn't determine him as a threat, however she transitioned within minutes of being close to him. Something that normally takes hours." he said.

"And?" Elena asked.

"She didn't transition because she needed to be protected from him." Klaus went on. "She transitioned because she felt she needed _to_ protect him."

"Why would she need to do that?" Caroline asked.

"Because he's her mate." Damon explained. "It's really rare for it to happen between a witch and a vampire, although Klaus's brother Kol, his mate is also a witch." he went on. "All supernatural creatures have mates, and fate will always attempt to bring them together. He will be the first person she wants to see when she wakes."

This information stunned Elena. None of them had truly believed any of the stories about Bonnie being a potential powerful witch. Now, to make things worse, it was going to affect her relationship with Jeremy, because she was always destined to be with Enzo. Elena was devastated for her brother.

"And what are we supposed to do?" Caroline asked.

"Go back to your apartment and get some rest. Nandi will call you tomorrow." Klaus told them.

"I could drive you home." Damon offered.

"We'll wait for Nandi and get a cab." Caroline huffed.

As they were simply playing a waiting game, Elena decided she wanted to know more about Damon and Stefan. "Can we go somewhere a little more private?" she asked.

Damon wiggled his eyebrows. "Thought you'd never ask." he smirked, causing Elena to roll her eyes in annoyance, as he led her to what she had originally thought was the bathroom.

When she walked through the door, they walked up a flight of stairs, but she was shocked to find instead of the room being a bathroom, it was a large bedroom with an en-suite. Again the walls were wooden paneled, just like his office, with a large fireplace and Persian rug. The room was dominated by the largest bed Elena had ever seen. It was a four poster, made of dark wood, so thick she couldn't imagine anything could ever break it. There was a door to what looked like a closet, a chair and a huge mirror propped up against the wall. The bathroom looked to be beautifully decorated with a modern look. The huge shower had slate tiles and there was an enormous bathtub. It also contained two sinks and a toilet which was practically hidden. There were two large open windows with heavy drapes, which appeared to open out onto a balcony.

"You live here?" Elena frowned.

"Only at the weekends." Damon smirked. Don't have a lot of time for much else. The club won't run itself."

Elena looked at Damon carefully, trying to find and family resemblance to Stefan, but apart from the same ring and being unbelievably hot, there was none.

"So, when is Stefan's birthday?" Elena asked, hoping it would catch Damon out.

"Stefan was born on November first, eighteen forty six." Damon replied. "He turned September twenty fifth eighteen sixty four, the same day as I did." he added.

"Who by?" Elena asked, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she knew the answer. "Katherine?" she asked.

Damon nodded. "She sucked us in, made us fall in love with her and used us like she used all of the other blind idiots." Damon sighed. "Then father found out and shot us, which triggered the transition. But I do think she truly loved Stefan, which was why it didn't surprise me when I thought he was with Katherine. We were hoping to find her, Klaus and she aren't on the best of terms." he said uncomfortably. "He wants her dead." Damon admitted.

"So you approached me, thinking I was Katherine, and if I had been, she would be dead by now?" Elena asked, shocked by this revelation.

Damon nodded once more. "Katherine was human when she befriended the Original family. Klaus and Elijah, his brother, were the first sibling victims of her evil charms. She drove a wedge between them, then managed to persuade Klaus's other brother Finn, to turn her, before driving a special stake through his heart, killing him. Klaus has been after Katherine ever since." he told her. "And after all of this time, she has eluded him. Now I thought my spies were reliable when they told me only last week that they had seen Stefan and Katherine together in Mystic Falls. Klaus was here to make plans to go pay a visit and kill Katherine. Now, what I can't understand is how my spies managed to confuse you and Katherine." he frowned.

"You did." Elena reminded him.

"Only until you spoke. Although you are physically identical in almost every way, there are some huge differences which are easy to spot." Damon explained. "You don't walk like her, you don't talk like her, you don't carry yourself in a sleazy manner like she does." he went on. "So either my spies are lying or they confused the two of you, or your boyfriend is cheating on you with your double and using you to keep Katherine from being identified." Damon stopped and frowned for a minute. "They know Katherine, so they couldn't have confused the two of you. Looks like Klaus will need to play a little truth game with them." he smirked. "But if Katherine is dating Stefan and using you to cover her tracks, you being here is likely to expose her and she'll be wanting you and your friends dead. In fact even if she isn't dating Stefan, she'll want you dead as she sees Stefan as hers." he shrugged.

"Are they mates?" Elena asked.

"Good question." Damon sighed. "A vampire can't have sex with anyone else without consent from their mate."

"And other than this situation, why would a vampire consent to something like that?" Elena frowned.

"Threesome, foursome, orgy, who knows." Damon laughed. "Vampires are immortal. I'm guessing if two people are together for hundreds of years, they might want a little sexual variety." he smirked. "I wouldn't know, always had a rule to steer clear of getting into a relationship with a supernatural woman." Damon edged closer to Elena. "I also made sure to never find out what happened when you come into contact with your mate. Unfortunately, Bonnie and Enzo have just enlightened me. It appears you have an instinctive need to protect your mate, and for some reason, you just want to get close to them." he whispered as Elena stepped back nervously. Damon was affecting her and it made her nervous. Although Stefan had lied to her, he was still her boyfriend, and would be until all of this mess was resolved. However, she couldn't escape the undeniable pull Damon seemed to have on her.

"Good job I'm not supernatural." Elena said.

"Why?" Damon raised an eyebrow. "You ready to drop my brother already?" he asked.

"No, it just means I'll never be mated to a vampire." she whispered.

"Problem is Elena, a doppelganger _is_ a supernatural entity." Damon smiled. "And judging by the way you are reacting to me, Stefan isn't your mate."

"Are you saying you are?" Elena asked.

"I'm saying you wouldn't even be able to look at another man that way if he were your mate." Damon continued backing Elena up until her back hit a wall and Damon placed his hand at the side of Elena's head. "If he were your mate, your heart wouldn't be beating so hard and fast like it is now." Damon lowered his voice into a sexual whisper. "And I wouldn't be turning you on like this, just by being near you." he said, biting his bottom lip.

Elena knew he was right, she was incredibly turned on, but she couldn't let him know that.

"What if I'm just scared you might hurt me?" Elena whispered back.

Damon lowered his head to Elena's neck and sniffed before whispering into her ear.

"I have heightened senses Elena. I know you're turned on because of your scent. And when I say I want to taste what I can smell, I don't mean your blood." he whispered, blowing hot breath onto Elena's neck, almost causing her to have an orgasm right there.

"I thought you had a rule about supernatural women." Elena whispered back.

"I might be prepared to break it for you." Damon smiled.

"I..I..really need to get back to Caroline and Bonnie." Elena breathed, knowing if she stayed in such close proximity to Damon for much longer, she may end up doing something she might regret.

Damon nodded and reluctantly backed off, adjusting his jeans, alerting Elena to the fact she was having the same effect on him as he was having on her.

"I'll organize protection for you from tomorrow." Damon told her. "Josh is one of my most trusted guys. He'll be your bodyguard until we get the Katherine mess resolved." he sighed. "But he's off duty now. I'll keep an eye on things until then."

"Why?" Elena asked.

Damon frowned as he thought for a minute. "I just don't want you to get hurt as a result of that bitch." he said.

"But how do you know I'm in danger?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Because I have been fed the wrong information about Stefan, which means Katherine is involved. She's the only one with a motive. The minute you are of no use to her, she will kill you." Damon told her. "You coming to New Orleans and meeting me has exposed her. And I wouldn't be surprised if she already knows." he sighed. "I'll drive you and Caroline back to your apartment. Take my car back, hand the keys over to Klaus to take care of the club. I'll come back and watch the apartment until Josh arrives to take over. I'll be gone half an hour at the most. Just don't invite anyone into the apartment, not even me or Klaus, and drink the tea Nandi gave you. It'll keep you safe from compulsion." he added as an afterthought.

"Compulsion?" Elena asked.

"Mind control." Damon explained as his eyes suddenly turned to the door. "Nandi is here. We better get back and tell Caroline what's happening." he said as he led her back downstairs and into the office to rejoin Caroline, Bonnie, Enzo, Klaus and the newly arrived Nandi.

Just as Elena walked through the door, Nandi eyed her and Damon suspiciously before turning her attention to Bonnie, and then to Enzo.

"How long?" she asked Enzo.

"We didn't even get through one song." he told her.

"Give me your hand." Nandi instructed Enzo, who did as he was told. She then took hold of Bonnie's hand, closed her eyes and began to chant. A moment later she opened them and nodded. "You're mates alright." she sighed. "Unusual to happen between a witch and a vampire, especially when there is a need to continue the Bennett line." she frowned. "Maybe it is fated to end with her, or you are fated to break the rules of procreation." she shrugged.

"Can that happen?" Enzo asked.

"When magic is involved, anything is possible." Nandi smiled. "Now help me and carry her to the car." she told Enzo before turning to face Elena and Caroline. "Are you girls fine to get a cab home?" she asked.

"I'll take them back to the apartment." Damon told Nandi. "I think Katherine Pierce might be on the prowl and a danger to Elena, so I'm going to organize protection for them until we know Katherine is out of the picture." he explained.

Nandi nodded, a small smile creeping up on her lips. "Thank you for your help Mr Salvatore. It is much appreciated." she said as Enzo lifted Bonnie up and they disappeared into the night out of a back door.

"Can you mind the club for me? I'll be back shortly." Damon asked Klaus who simply nodded, before taking Caroline's hand and kissing the back of it before returning to the club.

Elena and Caroline gathered up their purses and left through the same door as Nandi. They turned right and walked down some steps to and underground parking lot. Damon led them over to a black SUV with blacked out windows. The flashing lights and a beep indicated the doors were open, prompting Elena and Caroline to climb into the back. Once they'd buckled up, the car roared to life and a garage door opened to the street as Damon set off back to their apartment.

Ten minutes later they were parked on the opposite side of the street to their apartment. As they only had to cross the street, they didn't have too far to go to get inside. Just as they got out, Damon handed a card over to Elena.

"This is my number. If you need anything, call me." he told her. Elena simply nodded and got out of the car to join her friend.

They watched Damon drive of as they crossed the street to their apartment. Caroline was busy trying to find the keys which she'd put in her purse while Elena had already made it to the other side. Caroline stopped to get a better look and finally pulled them out of her purse.

"Found them." she yelled holding them up and dangling them in the air. Unfortunately Caroline had a habit of dropping things, especially her keys. So when she dropped them, Elena simply laughed as her friend bent down to pick them up. It was at that moment Elena heard a screeching of tires. She looked in the direction of the noise and saw a dark sports car approaching Caroline at speed.

What happened next seemed to go in a blur in Elena's eyes.

"Caroline, watch out!" Elena screamed as her friend looked up to see the car coming towards her. She managed to scramble to get up and start to move, but she was wearing a short, tight black dress and wasn't quick enough to get out of the way. The car hit her, throwing her over the roof. After it hit her, the car didn't bother to stop, it simply sped off into the night, leaving Caroline's body laying lifeless in the street. Elena screamed.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

**As this is my story, I can make up the mythology, which differs a little from the show. It will make sense during this chapter. However, one part I need to make clear is there is no sire-line problem. Killing an Original will not result in the death of his/her sire-line. Just thought I'd clarify that point as it will crop up later in the story.**

Elena screamed and ran over to Caroline's still body. When she got there, she found out her friend was was still alive and breathing, but only just. Elena took out her phone and called nine, one, one to get an ambulance.

Elena didn't know how long it took for the ambulance to reach them, because although it felt like an eternity, it was probably no more than two or three minutes. They were rushed to the hospital with lights flashing and sirens blazing out. Caroline was quickly rushed into theater as it appeared she had some internal bleeding.

Terrified and not knowing what to do, Elena's first instinct was to call Damon, who had just arrived back at their apartment only to find them gone. He promised to come straight to the hospital and also told her not to worry as he would make sure Caroline survived. Elena wasn't sure what he meant, but it was a comforting thought. He told her not to call Caroline's mom until he'd seen her friend.

When Damon arrived, he took her into his arms in a comforting manner. It didn't occur to Elena this could be wrong, or how Stefan would see this. She even forgot about Damon being a vampire. Elena just needed someone to comfort her, and Damon was the one who was there for her.

"What have the doctors said?" Damon asked her as he wiped her eyes tenderly.

"They took her down to theater about half an hour ago." Elena sobbed. "They said something about internal bleeding."

"Shit!" Damon swore, as he rolled his eyes with annoyance.

"What?" Elena asked. "Can't you do anything?"

"I can." Damon smiled. "I just need to get to her quickly so that I can save her."

"How?" Elena frowned.

"I'll give her some of my blood." Damon replied hesitantly.

"Won't that turn her into a vampire?" Elena asked.

Damon shook his head. "You've watched too many movies." he smiled. "It's more complicated than that. It takes more than just feeding someone vampire blood to turn them." he whispered. "You'd have to feed on my blood, then die, then feed on humans blood, it's a whole ordeal. But if I feed Caroline my blood, she won't die from her injuries, and she's not exactly going to die in here is she?" he said.

Elena shook her head. "If it's the only way of guaranteeing she survives, then do it." she nodded.

"Then why don't you grab two coffees, no cream or sugar for me, while I go find Caroline and save her life." Damon smiled. "I'll meet you back here when I've found her. Just don't call anyone until I've seen her, okay?" he asked.

Elena nodded. "Okay. I'll just get the coffee and wait here. No cream or sugar." she repeated, to which Damon smiled in acknowledgment, before Elena wandered off to the vending machine to get two coffee's while Damon went to find Caroline.

Elena returned a few minutes later and sat down to nervously wait for Damon's return. She'd just agreed for Damon to feed her friend vampire blood to save her. She was sure Caroline wouldn't mind, it wasn't as if she were going to turn into a vampire because she'd be safe in the hospital. Not long after Elena had sat back down in the waiting area, Damon returned. He nodded for her to go walk with him and took his coffee from her so they could go somewhere more private. Eventually Damon led her to a small ward and pointed to a little room. Inside, Caroline was asleep, hooked up to some machines and a drip.

Elena's face fell. "Were you too late?" she asked.

Damon shook his head. "I needed to make sure the doctors thought they saved her, too many questions would be asked if they didn't. I compelled them to think the surgery was completely successful and that you would be informed and to forget they'd ever seen me in the theater or what happened to her." he explained. "So they need to go through the motions of treating her as would be expected. Even though her recovery will be miraculously quick." he added.

"When do you think she'll be free to leave hospital?" Elena asked.

"Well, technically she's fine now. Maybe a little sore, but by morning she'll be as good as new." Damon told her. "But for appearances sake, it is best she is left here. I've compelled the doctors to deem her fit for releasing tomorrow." he said.

"So I really don't need to call her mom?" Elena asked.

Damon shook his head. "She's fine." he reassured her. "What actually happened?" he frowned. "How did she get hit by a car?"

"Caroline has a tendency to drop her keys." Elena sighed. "She dropped them in the middle of the road, and as she was picking them up, a sports car came speeding along the road and hit her." she shrugged.

"And the driver didn't stop to check she was okay?" Damon frowned.

Elena shook her head. "The car didn't even slow down, they just drove straight off."

Damon frowned. "Odd. What type of car is it? Can you remember?" he asked.

"Everything happened so fast." Elena shook her head. "All I could focus on was trying to get Caroline to run. But...but...it was..." Elena suddenly burst into tears.

"Hey, hey." Damon whispered as he gently tucked a strand of loose hair behind Elena's ear. "She's going to be fine. Now why don't you let me take you home so you can both get some rest." he said.

Elena nodded. "I'll just go and say goodbye." she smiled as she wandered into Caroline's room and checked to see for herself how her friend was doing. Reassured by the color in Caroline's cheeks, she promised to see her in the morning before returning to Damon and returning back to her apartment with Damon driving her home.

Soon they arrived at Elena's apartment. "Do you want to come in?" she asked as she stayed sat in the car.

"I can't." Damon shrugged. "Nandi owns the place, so only she can invite me in." he explained.

"Oh." Elena exclaimed with surprise. "So that myth is true?" she asked as Damon nodded in response. "So what about the daylight thing?" she asked. "Stefan walks about in the day."

Damon held up his hand and wiggled his finger to show her his ring. "It isn't a family heirloom." Damon told her. "It is called a daylight ring. As long as we are wearing it, it allows us to walk around during the day without turning to dust. Having a friendly witch on your side to make one is always useful as a vampire." he smirked.

"So you help Nandi with transitioning witches and she helps you out with daylight rings?" Elena asked.

"That's the deal." Damon nodded. "Although I don't get to make the ultimate decision on who gets the daylight ring. That falls to Marcel or Klaus. They then provide me with any security that I need like Josh or occasionally Thierry in return for daylight rings. Josh has only been with me for a year, and he's a newbie, but he's good at what he does. He's now in my employ and will be looking out for you while you're here, that's if I can't. Nandi knows, although I expect Enzo to be around you girls a lot." he winked.

"If Bonnie and Enzo are mates, how does it work?" Elena frowned. "She's going to grow old and die, but he'll be young forever."

"Either Bonnie will turn for him, or he will take off his daylight ring and walk into the sun after she dies." Damon sighed. "They won't be able to bear being alive when the other one dies." he said sadly.

"And what about kids?" Elena asked. "Bonnie has always wanted kids, and if she doesn't, the Bennett witch line will die out."

"Bonnie isn't the only Bennett witch who can have children." Damon told her. "But if the bloodline sense she is the only option, magic will intervene and I suspect she and Enzo might be able to have children to further the magical bloodline. I know of it happening on at least one occasion. The spirits of nature take over and intervene, allowing the vampire to become fertile with his witch. Bonnie will then be able to choose whether to give up her magic and become a vampire to watch her children and their children grow up and old for all eternity. The sting in the tail is the grief she will feel when each one of them dies. But over time, maybe a century or two, she'd get used to the loss. To quote a well known movie, it's the circle of life." he added wistfully.

"That's...sad." Elena said a little taken aback by the fate of her best friend. "And it is going to break my brother's heart. Will she know to dump him immediately?" she asked.

Damon shook his head. "She'll know she wants to be near Enzo. But it will only hit her when she sees your brother that she feels absolutely nothing for him. Until she sees him, she'll be under the illusion she still has feelings for him and will simply see Enzo as a friend." he told her.

"Wont Enzo be jealous?" Elena frowned.

Damon smiled and shook his head. "She can't cheat on him without his say so. There isn't any need for jealousy when it comes to mates. Enzo might want to go back with her to Mystic Falls to meet Sheila."

"How do you know Grams?" Elena asked, her voice full of confusion.

"The Bennett witches have been under my protection since I turned." Damon told her. "Although Sheila has always been convinced Stefan was the benefactor. I decided not to correct her. She thinks the sun shines out of his ass and that I'm the bad guy. All because he's a bunny munching pacifist. If only she knew the real reason for his eating habits." he added. "But if you were his mate, no matter what those feeding habits are, he wouldn't be able to hurt you. Not even if Klaus compelled him to. Although after our little talk this evening, I can say with absolute certainty you are not Stefan's mate." he grinned. "Anyway, you need to get home. No doubt we'll be seeing quite a bit of each other over the next few days considering the Bonnie and Enzo situation."

"Is Enzo your best friend?" Elena asked.

Damon nodded. "We've been best friends since the fifties after we had a shared nasty experience." he told her.

Elena got out of the car and Damon followed her to the outside of her apartment while she got the keys out which she'd retrieved from Caroline's purse.

"Goodnight Damon. Its been a pleasure meeting you." she smiled.

Damon took her hand in his, bowed his head and kissed the back of it, sending electric shocks throughout Elena's body. Something which clearly affected Damon too as his eyes flashed with momentary confusion, before he regained some semblance of control. "Goodnight Elena." he whispered, before Elena walked through the door of her apartment, closing it on Damon for the night.

Once inside, Elena sighed as she kicked off her shoes and headed straight for the bathroom. She needed a shower before bed. However, that wasn't the only thing she needed, and that worried her. For some reason, she felt a strong desire to be in Damon's arms. Part of her wished he'd have kissed her earlier in his bedroom. She suspected it would probably be the most mind-blowing kiss of her life, if the touch of his lips against the back of her hand was anything to go by. Once showered, Elena changed into her pj's, climbed into bed and fell fast asleep, her overly satisfying dreams filled with the blue eyes and raven hair of Damon Salvatore.

Caroline opened her eyes and blinked as she tried to take in her strange surroundings. The beeping of some machine had woken her up. It didn't take her long to work out she was in hospital. She looked around the room and noticed Elena sat in a chair opposite, clearly waiting for her to wake up.

"What happened?" Caroline asked groggily.

"You were involved in an accident." Elena told her. "You nearly died, but Damon saved you with his blood."

"Will I be okay?" Caroline frowned, confused by Elena's comment.

Elena smiled. "Depends on your version of okay." she replied as her smile turned more into a cruel smirk.

Caroline blinked at Elena a little more at her strange comment. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was off with Elena. Her friend was wearing her hair different, and her makeup was much heavier. And when her friend got up and made her way to Caroline's bed, she noticed Elena. seemed to move different, more cat-like. It was as if Elena wasn't Elena.

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked.

"I want you to give your little friend Elena a message." the woman who looked like Elena said.

"If you're not Elena, then who are you?" Caroline asked.

"My name is Katherine." Katherine smirked.

"What's the message?" Caroline asked.

"Tell her Damon's spies were right about her boyfriend. They didn't lie or make a mistake. And please let Klaus know I have the stake and he needs to watch his back. Someone loyal to him may stab him in the back." she said cruelly as she pulled one of the pillows from under Caroline's head and placed it over Caroline's face and began to smother her.

Caroline opened her eyes once more, realizing she must have passed out when the woman who looked exactly like Elena, but called herself Katherine, had placed the pillow over her face. Not that it mattered much now, as Caroline had more important things on her mind, like food. She had a little bit of a headache, and the lights were hurting her eyes, but when she thought back to the previous night at the club, she had been drinking alcohol, and these were her normal hangover symptoms. Food was usually her go to when she needed a hangover relief, so she got up out of bed to see if anyone could find her something to eat.

When she left her room, she could smell something so delicious she couldn't even describe it. It was like all of her favorite foods rolled into one, it was everything she was craving. Yet she couldn't work out what the source of the smell was. Eventually she noticed a nurse at the nursing station look up at the sound of her approaching.

"Excuse me? Where is everyone?" Caroline asked the nurse.

"It's the middle of the night honey." the nurse replied with a warm smile.

"It is?" Caroline frowned with confusion. "Oh, uh...when did everyone go home?"

"Your friend Elena left after around midnight with her boyfriend to get changed and then came back for a little while before leaving again." the nurse told her.

"She did?" Caroline narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, she did but she said her name was Katherine." she said, more to herself than to the nurse. "Can I just get something to eat?" she asked.

"Breakfast comes around seven." the nurse replied.

"But I'm hungry." Caroline insisted.

"You should go back to sleep." the nurse told her firmly.

Deciding not to bother arguing with the nurse anymore, Caroline started to walk back to her room, however the smell was getting stronger and was far too enticing for her to contemplate returning until she found the source and devoured whatever it was.

"What is that smell?" Caroline asked the nurse.

"Back to bed." the nurse insisted as she got up and left to tend to one of the patients.

Caroline stood in the hallway for a moment, trying to identify the source of the smell. For some reason, her mind was no longer complicit or acting rationally. She had no choice but to taste the source of the smell. After looking everywhere to try and work out what she could smell, Caroline saw a blood bag in a patient's room, and she instantly knew that was what she was craving. She had no idea why, but she didn't care, she needed to drink the contents of that blood bag, as if her life depended on it. Caroline tiptoed into the patients room and took the blood bag from it's hook when she heard a voice from behind. Caroline hid the bag under her gown, folded her arms to hide it and spun around to see the nurse she'd just been talking to had returned and caught her.

"What are you doing in here?" the nurse asked.

"I don't know." Caroline frowned. "I kinda got lost. All of the rooms look the same."

"You need to go back to bed." the nurse told her, leading Caroline back to her room.

The nurse finally left and closed the door behind her. Caroline sat down on her bed and checked to see if the nurse had really gone before taking the stolen blood bag from under her gown. She opened it and placed the tube in her mouth to drink in the delightful smell. However the moment Caroline took a sip of the coppery tasting liquid, the realization of what she was doing hit her. She was drinking blood from a blood bag, and regardless of the taste or smell, she was so disgusted with herself, she threw the bag on the floor.

As soon as she did, some other need kicked in. Caroline had to drink the blood, she needed to find out if it really was what she could smell. She had already forgotten what that first sip had tasted like, it seemed a distant memory. Caroline looked down at the bag on the floor and climbed down from her bed to pick it back up for another taste, just to be sure.

The moment she started to drink the blood, her whole world seemed to change in a matter of moments. Everything sounded louder and clearer. She could identify individual noises, which she worked out quite quickly, could prove annoying. Her headache disappeared and she could suddenly see clearer. Caroline then began to feel stronger. It was at that point Caroline knew something was wrong. She shouldn't be drinking blood, and it certainly shouldn't be making her feel this good.

A few moments later she felt an excruciating pain in her gums and a tingling sensation around her eyes. She darted up, moving faster than she'd ever believed possible, and looked into the mirror. She could see black veins all around her eyes. The whites of her eyes were turning a solid blood red color, but most worrying of all, not only could she feel what was going on in her mouth, she could now see it. She was growing fangs. That was when Caroline realized what had happened. Some way or another, she'd been turned into a vampire, and this Katherine woman was completely responsible for it.

Terrified, Caroline wanted to scream. But another part of her had a greater desire, one which was impossible to resist. She needed more blood. Luckily, now she had such sensitive hearing and could move faster, she'd be able to pick her moment when to escape and find more blood.

Drinking from a human was clearly an option, but she didn't like the idea. What if they were sweaty, or their perfume tasted bad. That was what made her decision to stick to blood bags. She just needed to find out where they were.

In the meantime, while Caroline was waiting for the perfect opportunity to grab more blood, she began to wonder whether her two best friends would be understanding of the situation. This wasn't her fault, and she needed to relay Katherine's message to Elena. If anything, that was what worried her the most. She hadn't been paying attention to a lot of the drama between Elena and Damon, but it was related to Stefan, that much she could remember. Caroline just hoped it wasn't anything too hurtful. The Klaus part of the message just confused her, but she suspected it was important, which meant she wasn't to forget it.

Just at that moment, the nurse disappeared once more to check on a patient. Caroline slipped out of her room, and sped off to find as many blood bags as she could logistically stash on her body without getting caught, in the hope it would be enough to get her through the next day until she could speak to Nandi or one of the vampires for advice.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

When Elena woke the next morning, she checked her phone, only to find a barrage full of texts from Caroline.

 _'Elena, I'm in trouble.'_ the first one said.

 _'Get to the hospital asap. And bring a vampire with you. And some makeup, and my curling irons._ ' The second text made Elena laugh. Caroline's idea of being in trouble usually revolved around either something being out of her control or her appearance. Although she thought wanting a vampire seemed odd. She continued to read the texts.

_'They want to release me this morning, but I can't go out in the sun. I'll explain when you get to the hospital.'_

_'Are you up yet?'_

_'Elena, wake the fuck up. Its an emergency. I can't tell you over the phone, it needs to be in person, and bring a vampire.'_

Elena was getting extremely confused, why would Caroline need a vampire unless she hadn't fully healed. Elena momentarily panicked and decided to call Damon to see if he was available.

After two rings, Damon picked up. "Couldn't wait to see me again?" he asked, a smirk evident in his voice.

"You wish." Elena laughed. "I hope I didn't disturb you, but is it possible Caroline might need more of your blood to heal?" she asked.

"No. I gave her plenty, why?" Damon replied.

"She's been texting me all morning." Elena told him. "She keeps telling me to bring a vampire and she can't go out in the sun. but she won't tell me whats wrong."

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Damon swore.

"What?" Elena asked.

"I'll be over in a few minutes, call Nandi and ask her to get Bonnie to make Caroline a daylight ring." he told her.

"Why would Caroline need a daylight ring?" Elena asked, although she suspected she already knew the answer.

"It sounds like someone took advantage of the vampire blood in her system to turn her into a vampire." Damon explained. "Look tell Nandi Caroline needs a daylight ring. Nandi will know what's needed. I'll pick you up in twenty minutes. Can you be ready by then?" he asked.

"Sure." Elena told him.

Once they hung up, Elena did as Damon asked and called Nandi, telling her they suspected Caroline had been turned into a vampire after her car accident the previous evening. Nandi advised Elena she would help Bonnie create a daylight ring as long as her friend was taken under the wing of a vampire to help her transition into a functional vampire. Elena agreed before quickly getting ready to go to the hospital with Damon.

Ever prompt, Damon turned up exactly twenty minutes later in a blacked out SUV. They drove to the hospital in silence, both in some shock at the turn of events. Damon had his own theory, although he didn't want to initially voice them to Elena. He wanted to hear Caroline's side of the story first. Whoever had killed her, knew exactly who she was and who would be affected by this. It also meant Caroline was probably going to have to stay in New Orleans for a little longer. Newbie vampires took time to get themselves and their emotions under control.

When they reached the hospital, Damon took them into the underground parking lot. Damon had already explained to Elena that they'd need to keep Caroline covered, if indeed she was a vampire and there was an exit from the hospital into the parking lot. They'd have to go back to the club as Caroline wouldn't be able to get into Nandi's apartment as she never invited vampires into her homes. Apparently he had a house next to the club, which had several bedrooms and Caroline could stay there. This begged the question as to why Damon had the bedroom in the club. Somehow him sleeping there didn't resonate with her, which left only two options. He took people there to feed from, or he took women there for sex. Or possibly even both. A thought which made Elena feel angry and almost hurt by the image of Damon having sex with other women.

Elena had brought some of Caroline's belongings so she could make herself look decent. However, when she arrived, Elena wasn't prepared for Caroline to look so ragged and unkempt, and absolutely terrified. Knowing Caroline could potentially be a threat to Elena, Damon made sure he placed himself between the two girls to ensure nobody got hurt.

"What happened?" Elena asked.

"A woman who looked exactly like you came to me last night." Caroline explained.

Damon and Elena looked at each other knowingly.

"Was her name Katherine?" Damon asked. Caroling simply nodded. "What did she want?"

"She said I was to tell Elena that Damon's spies were right about her and Stefan." Caroline told them. "And to tell Klaus to watch his back. She has the stake and someone who he thinks is loyal to him will betray him."

Damon looked thunderstruck. "Fucking bitch!" he sneered. "I'm guessing the sports car that hit you was an Aston Martin." he said.

"Why would she turn Caroline?" Elena asked.

"To keep you in New Orleans." Damon told them. "Maybe to keep you away from Stefan. Who knows how her mind works."

Elena kept to herself the part which disturbed her the most, what Katherine had said about Stefan. Had he been cheating on her with Katherine? Or was he allowed to cheat on Katherine, his mate, with Elena, to help keep Katherine alive. Whichever way, she was starting to feel used by Stefan, and it hurt. His lies were one issue which they needed to deal with when she returned to Mystic Falls, but this was unforgivable. However, at this time, she needed to put her personal life last. Both of her best friends were going through far more life altering traumas than boyfriend issues, and they needed her to be there for them.

Without going into too much detail, Elena gave Caroline some clothes, makeup and her curling irons to allow her friend to make herself seem presentable. Damon then compelled the doctors to sign her release form before whisking her away to the underground parking lot, managing to avoid windows and sunlight in the process. Damon then took the girls back to the parking lot under the club and led them to an underground doorway which led into a very opulent looking house. He led them upstairs and to a lavish bedroom.

"This is yours until you can control yourself." Damon told Caroline. "There are en-suite facilities and a mini-fridge over there to house blood bags should you need them." he pointed to a small fridge which was already stocked with bags of red liquid. "You can stay here in one of the other rooms if you want." Damon said as he turned to Elena. "With Bonnie and Enzo being mates, although I doubt they've sealed the deal yet, I'm guessing Bonnie will want to be near Enzo, who also happens to live here." he told her.

"Like, how many bedrooms does this place have?" Caroline asked.

"Eight." Damon shrugged.

"Wow, you must be loaded." Caroline looked at Damon wide-eyed.

"Being a vampire has its perks." Damon smirked.

This seemed to calm Caroline down for a moment, until another thought popped into her head. "What am I going to tell my mom? And Tyler?" she panicked.

"Who's Tyler?" Damon frowned.

"My boyfriend." Caroline replied.

"Well, if he's human, I suggest you dump his ass." Damon shrugged. "You'll have a mate out there somewhere, so unless he's supernatural, it'll happen sooner or later." he told her nonchalantly.

"You haven't." Elena said.

"Oh I have." Damon disagreed. "I'd just been avoiding her." he sighed before turning his gaze back to Caroline. "So, until you are under control, you're going to have to tell your mom you're extending your stay in New Orleans." he told her. "I'll explain to Sheila what has happened. We'll say your stay has been extended for another three weeks. That should give you enough time to become fully functional without killing your mom. Is she on the council?" he asked.

"What council?" Caroline frowned.

"There's an anti vampire council in Mystic Falls. It's why I try and avoid the place. It's headed by Richard Lockwood..." Damon started.

"Wait, that's Tyler's dad." Caroline interrupted.

Damon laughed. "Then you really do need to dump your boyfriend. Otherwise he light give you more than just a hickey."

"What do you mean?" Elena frowned.

"The Lockwood's are a family of werewolves. Well they are when they trigger the curse." Damon told them. "Your boyfriend might be in the dark, but his family will do anything to kill vampires. And werewolves will always kill vampires, it is in their nature. You really need to ditch him Who's your mom?" he asked.

"The Sheriff." Caroline replied.

Damon raised his eyebrows. "Liz Forbes." he nodded.

"You know my mom?" Caroline frowned.

"We met briefly in the nineties." Damon shrugged. "But the Sheriff is automatically on the council, so she might want you dead." he grimaced. "Ease her into it gently, or pretend you have a great cosmetic surgeon. Your only other option is to kill her." he shrugged.

"She can't kill her mom!" Elena yelled as Caroline looked at Damon with a mixture of anger and devastation at what she was hearing.

"Well, fake cosmetic surgery it is." Damon grinned. "She might fall for it. But I highly recommend you leave Mystic Falls and live in a big city once you graduate. Easier to mingle. People going missing isn't unusual unlike small towns. Vampires are less noticeable in big cities." he told her.

At this, Caroline burst into tears.

"Don't you have any tact?" Elena glared at Damon before putting her arms around her friend.

"Her emotions are heightened right now." Damon explained. "I'm only telling her the truth. No point in lying, it'll make matters worse. But in the meantime she needs to learn how to feed from the vein."

"I don't want to hurt anyone." Caroline sobbed.

"That's all well and noble of you." Damon told her. "But unless you learn how to feed from the vein, you will kill someone. Feeding from the vein can be done without hurting the source. Then you can switch to blood bags."

"Why can't I just drink from blood bags?" Caroline asked.

"You can." Damon nodded. "But you need to know how to control yourself around human blood without hurting anyone if you are going to live with a human and pretend to be a human." he explained. "Because trust me, blood from the vein tastes very different than the plastic variety." he shuddered.

"Do you always feed from humans?" Elena folded her arms.

"Only at weekends." Damon smirked as his phone began to ring. "It's Klaus, I'll get this in the other room." he said as he left the two girls alone together.

"Elena." Caroline's face crumpled once more. "How am I going to get through college like this? I can't even go outside during the day." she complained.

"Don't worry, Damon has asked Nandi to show Bonnie how to create a daylight ring. So you'll be fine to go back to college and graduate." she assured her friend, hoping she was right.

Damon returned almost immediately, looking a little sheepish.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked.

"Enzo and Bonnie will he here later." Damon told her. "They're bringing Caroline's daylight ring her. Bonnie is going to stay here with Enzo, so for your own safety Elena, I'd suggest you stay here too."

"That's fine." Elena agreed. "I'll get our things." she told Caroline. "What else?" she asked Damon.

"Enzo has heard that Klaus is a little pissed off with me for ordering a daylight ring for Caroline." Damon explained. "Technically only Klaus and Marcel can request them from a New Orleans witch. But I've asked an outside witch to make one without his consent."

"Is that bad?" Elena asked.

Damon nodded. "Normally it's punishable by imprisonment." Damon told them. "But Bonnie would have made the ring anyway when you guys left, and I think Klaus has a soft spot for Caroline. So hopefully he won't be too pissed. But he will want something in return." he sighed.

"And what's that likely to be?" Elena asked with trepidation.

"When Klaus hands out the daylight rings, it is only to those in his upper circle, vampires he can trust with absolute control." Damon explained. "He will need convincing Caroline has absolute control, even if she doesn't stay in New Orleans for very long." he continued. "He'll probably want Caroline to stay with him for the first week so that he can take over her training."

"Oh." Caroline said as she looked at Elena. "Well, that's not too bad is it? I mean being trained by the oldest vampire ever can't be a bad thing."

Damon grimaced. "He won't want any interference from us." he said. "If he wants to oversee your training for a few days, he won't allow any of us to see you until you are ready."

"And what does this training involve?" Caroline asked with some hesitancy.

"Teaching you how to be a vampire." was all Damon would say. "Other than that I don't know." he shook his head. "But as you were given the message by Katherine, he might want to keep an eye on you for your own protection too. I would because I don't trust Katherine. He will teach you how to fight, and he is the best so you will get the best training in that sense possible. But Klaus has a soft spot for you, so he won't be too hard on you." he assured her.

"All of this just for a daylight ring?" Elena cried.

"It normally takes a hundred years of being a vampire to get one of those." Damon told her. "He'll need to justify one being given to a newbie, otherwise questions will be asked." he said.

"I guess that seems fair." Caroline nodded. "Will I be safe?" she asked.

"Don't lie to him and be yourself." Damon told her. "Klaus has a soft spot for you, so I'd say you're probably the safest vampire to be around him." he smiled reassuringly.

"Well I don't think we have any other choice." Caroline sighed. "Not that I like the idea of having to stay with a complete stranger and no contact with the outside world." she shook her head. "As long as I can graduate college, then I'll do it." she said. "Is this going to affect my personality? Will I become evil?"

Damon laughed. "List your worst personality traits." he said.

"I can be a bit of a control freak at times." she admitted, causing Elena to snicker at Caroline's confession, which in truth was a bit of an understatement.

"Then that will be magnified. Everything about our personalities is heightened as vampires." Damon replied.

"So you're saying that now I'm basically an insecure, neurotic control freak...on crack?" Caroline looked at Damon in panic.

"Something like that." he said, clearly trying not very hard, not to laugh.

"Great!" Caroline sighed before turning to Elena. "Well we need to get our things from Nandi's apartment." she said.

"You're not going anywhere." Damon told her. "It is still daylight outside and you can't get into the apartment. You need to be invited in after you turn." he told her. "I'll take Elena, she can pass your things through the door and I'll put them in the car. We can get things done quicker that way." he told her. "In the meantime, have a blood bag and rest. You're going to need it." he said.

"Do vampires need to sleep?" Caroline asked.

"Technically no, but realistically yes." Damon explained. "Your body doesn't need it like a human body, but your mind does." he told her. "There's bourbon in the parlor if you need alcohol. But a word of warning, it takes a lot to get drunk as a vampire. So don't drink the expensive stuff." he warned her.

"How will I know which is which?" Caroline frowned as Damon beckoned for Elena to get up and leave.

"Your vampire senses will tell you. Lets say it is your first lesson as a vampire." he smiled as he and Elena left Caroline alone to her own devices.

On their way back to Nandi's apartment, Elena decided now was the time to voice her fears over what Katherine had said to Damon.

"Do you Katherine was lying?" she asked.

"About what? The stake or Stefan?" Damon replied.

"Both." Elena sighed. "But I was thinking about Stefan."

"I wouldn't be shocked if Katherine and Stefan were mates." he told her. "Even when Stefan was human, they had a connection I didn't have with her. I only realized it afterwards." Damon admitted sadly. "But, even if they are mates, if they haven't sealed the deal since he turned, he can still date you without cheating on her or needing her permission. Under normal circumstances it would be hard for him to find another woman sexually attractive, but as you are her doppelgänger, that isn't an issue."

"Seal the deal?" Elena raised an eyebrow.

"When we meet our mates, to make it official, we have to consummate the relationship. Although it is usually redundant as it is almost impossible to have any sexual attraction to anyone else." he explained. "So, even if they are mates, he might not be cheating on anyone. If anything, you came closer to cheating on him with me." Damon grinned.

"Don't remind me." Elena shuddered dramatically, although deep down part of her wished she had.

"Am I really that bad?" Damon asked in surprise. "I don't usually have a problem attracting the ladies." he grinned.

"You're an ass!" Elena exclaimed.

"But you gotta admit, I've got a hot ass. I know, I've seen you looking." Damon winked, to which Elena thumped him in the arm playfully. "Look, Stefan isn't the type to cheat." Damon tried to reassure her. "But if they are mates, he will do anything to protect Katherine. It's what mates do." he said.

They sat in silence for the rest of the journey before arriving at Nandi's apartment. Outside Elena spotted an old Mercedes with Enzo propped up against the passenger door.

"You helping Bonnie with the move?" Damon asked Enzo as Elena headed towards the apartment to pack.

Enzo nodded. "She's made the daylight ring for Caroline. But word is out he wants her to stay with him until he deems her worthy of the ring." he said.

"She knows." Damon said. "Elena's moving in too. Might as well have them together, even if Caroline is with Klaus for a few days."

Enzo raised a suspicious eyebrow. "You think it will only be a few days?" he asked.

"She describes herself as a neurotic control freak." Damon smiled. "If that is an accurate picture of her, she'll have being a vampire nailed within forty eight hours." he said.

They fell quiet for a moment before Enzo broke the silence.

"Have you told Elena?" he asked.

"Have I told Elena what?" Damon narrowed his eyes.

"That your bachelor days are now over thanks to her?" Enzo replied.

"Nah." Damon shook his head. "I think it's best if I let her figure that one out by herself. I don't want her to feel pressured." he sighed, staring at the entrance to the apartment. "Did you tell Bonnie?" he asked.

"No." Enzo shook his head. "It's crazy that it happened to us both on the same night." he laughed.

"I know." Damon agreed. "And to make matters worse, we didn't even get vampires." he added. "At least you got a Bennett witch, so you can have kids. I don't know how it will work with a doppelgänger. I think ours might be the first time it has ever happened."

"Maybe Nandi or even Bonnie, when she finds out, can speak to the spirits of nature to see what happens between a vampire and a doppelgänger." Enzo suggested. "Who knows, maybe the notorious playboy, Damon Salvatore might end up being able to be a dad." he laughed.

"Maybe." Damon nodded. "But you know what the spirits are like. For an unnatural life, there must be a balance, unless you're a witch, then the same rules don't apply."

"She'd need to turn afterwards. That's if it's possible." Enzo simply said.

Damon nodded. "We'll see what she wants. But for now, she needs to figure out who I am to her. Just make sure Bonnie doesn't say anything when she finds out. Not until Elena knows herself." Damon asked.

"I'll make sure she doesn't say anything." Enzo promised. "But if she doesn't realize soon, you know you're going to have to tell her, because she'll be even more pissed if it comes from another source."

"Stefan or Katherine?" Damon raised an eyebrow.

"Both. Or even Klaus." Enzo nodded.

Damon peered intently at the apartment. "I think the girls need our help." he said as he and Enzo made their way to help move the girls into Damon's house.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

Three hours later, the girls had moved into Damon's house. Caroline had joined them as soon as she had her daylight ring and was barking orders from the sidelines. Proving Damon's point about her personality being heightened. To make matters worse, when Bonnie and Elena made a snide joke about it in the apartment while they were packing, Caroline yelled out to them she could hear every word they were saying. Caroline herself, however, hadn't unpacked, just in case she needed to go elsewhere.

Once they returned and settled into their lavish bedrooms, they met in the parlor with Damon and Enzo, who both had a worried look on their faces.

"What's with the moody faces?" Caroline joked.

"Klaus will be here shortly." Damon told them. "Enzo and I are going to meet him in the club first. I would refrain from unpacking much." he sighed.

Caroline smiled sadly. "I haven't unpacked anything yet."

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked, clearly not in the loop with the daylight ring situation.

"Damon didn't have the authority to request a daylight ring for your friend." Enzo explained. "He has rules about whether a vampire is suited to a daylight ring. They usually have to be around for at least seventy five years, usually a century to get one."

"Unless you save his life like Josh did." Damon interrupted.

"Or Marcel requests one." Enzo continued. "But in this case Damon ordered you to make one, and you're not a New Orleans witch, so Damon initially thought it would be okay as you'd have made one as soon as you left. But apparently that doesn't matter to Klaus. He's pissed and wants proof Caroline will be a fully functional vampire as it would undermine his authority."

"I'll be staying with Klaus until I'm under control." Caroline told Bonnie.

"Will she be safe?" Bonnie asked, suddenly concerned. "Nandi had some, not very kind words to say about him." she frowned.

"Witches and vampires don't always get on love." Enzo smiled lovingly at Bonnie. "We're an exception to the rule."

Elena looked back and forth between Bonnie and Enzo. She could see how they looked at each other was different to how normal couples looked at each other. It was something deeper. Although she was happy for her friend, her brother Jeremy, who adored Bonnie, was going to be heartbroken, and this was going to take some explaining to make sense to him as he wasn't aware of Bonnie's magic. He, along with Stefan and Tyler, been told it was a family trip for Bonnie. However, Elena now knew Stefan would already be aware it was much more than that.

"She'll be fine." Damon assured Bonnie. "Klaus likes her. He'll treat her like a princess. As long as she doesn't get used to it, we'll all be fine." he laughed.

"What about Klaus's mate?" Elena suddenly asked.

"He doesn't have one." Damon replied.

"But he's a thousand years old. Surely he's met someone." Elena insisted.

"He and his brother both made the same mistake Stefan and I did with Katherine." Damon told her. "But he hasn't found his yet."

"So you can be a vampire for centuries before you find your mate?" Bonnie asked in wonder. To which both Enzo and Damon nodded. "Wow, that's sad, being alone for so long." she sighed.

"Being without a mate does not mean you can't have relationships." Damon corrected her. "But both parties always know that their time is finite, and if the mate of their partner comes along, there's nothing they can do about it." he added.

"All of you are supernatural entities." Enzo explained. "You will find your mates at some point, whether they be vampires..." he gave a side glance to Damon. "... a witch, a werewolf, a hybrid or a doppelganger. It doesn't matter, your mate is out there. Those with only a human lifespan will usually find theirs while they are still able to have children." he smiled at Bonnie.

"So when will Klaus be here?" Caroline asked.

"In about half an hour." Damon told her. "I'd make sure you're all ready to welcome him, and be nice to him. It always helps." he said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Enzo and I are going to meet him in the club, but I need to open it up first. So I'll let you ladies settle in while we get out of the way. Oh and Bonnie, can you call Sheila and let her know what's happened to Caroline, tell her we are looking after her and not to worry. Your trip has been extended and fully paid for until she is fine to be let out into the world as a safe vampire for humans." he added as Bonnie nodded before he and Enzo left the girls to their own devices.

Once they'd left, Elena and Caroline turned to Bonnie with excitement.

"What's it like?" Elena asked. "Being a witch?"

"Screw that." Caroline barked. "What's it like to be mated?" she asked.

Bonnie smiled nervously. "A little daunting for both of them." she admitted. "I mean, if someone had told me twenty four hours ago that I'd meet someone and that I'd never be able to, or more accurately, ever have any inclination to look at another guy for the rest of my life, I'd have thought they were on drugs or something. But after I'd accepted it, then it felt natural." she told them.

"Accepted it?" Caroline frowned.

"The humans usually fight it more than vampires." Bonnie told them. "In humans, I mean non-vampires. For vampires it is a relief to have someone to share their life with, it gives them purpose. But humans already have purpose, so they try to fight it. It never works." she shook her head, glancing over at Elena. "So for Caroline, she'll know it immediately and not fight it, whereas Elena will know something is different, but probably confuse it for lust or a crush, when in fact it's more. But if the person tries to be even slightly intimate with anyone else, they will struggle without permission from their mate." she explained.

"Damon mentioned something about sealing the deal." Elena raised an eyebrow.

"Enzo and I haven't done that yet." Bonnie blushed. "I want to make sure Jeremy understands before we do. Enzo doesn't mind, he's prepared to wait. I mean, he's waited over a hundred years for his mate, what's another few days."

"What is sealing the deal?" Caroline raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly the same as what normal humans do." Bonnie told her through gritted teeth. "Except mates don't usually wait unless they're already in a relationship, or one is human and in denial." she added, glancing at Elena.

"Why do you keep looking at me?" Elena asked.

"You're already dating a vampire." Bonnie smirked. "Maybe you've already met yours."

"I'd like it to be Stefan." Elena admitted. "But I can still see guys and find them hot."

"That's not what you said last night." Bonnie frowned.

"There were some hot guys in the club who I noticed." Elena replied, trying to sound innocent.

"Black hair and blue eyes by any chance?" Caroline snickered.

"Damon?" Bonnie looked at her wide-eyed. "If he's your mate, you've got your hands full with him."

"He's not!" Elena snapped. "So, Bonnie, being a witch, what is it like?" she asked, changing the subject.

"It's cool." Bonnie smiled. "I've got a lot to learn, so it's probably a good thing I'm here because there's a large network of witches who can show me different kinds of magic before Grams goes into more details of the Bennett magic." she explained. "But my first spell felt good."

"What did you do?" Caroline asked. "Was it making my ring?"

Bonnie shook her head. "No, the first spells have to be related to nature. Fire, earth, wind and water. Making a candle light, making a flower grow from the earth, turning wine into water..."

"Shouldn't that be the other way around for it to be of any use?" Caroline joked as the girls laughed.

"I'll try that one once I've had a bit more practice." Bonnie laughed.

"I'm glad everything is going well for you." Elena smiled, however underneath Bonnie's words about a mate fighting their feelings which could be misguided and thought to be lust or a crush. That was how she felt about Damon. On the other hand, most women (apart from Bonnie) probably felt that way considering he was insanely attractive. When Elena realized Caroline and Bonnie were still talking, she turned her attention back to their conversation while they waited for Damon and Enzo to return with Klaus.

Damon was nervously pacing up and down in his office. He didn't get nervous as a rule, but he generally liked to keep on Klaus's good side as there were a number of perks, including owning the club, which had very much suited his playboy lifestyle. Damon had a notorious reputation with women. Some for feeding, but most were simply for sex. That was until the previous night when he'd met Elena, and he knew his old life as the eternal stud was over. It was time to settle down. And if he wanted to stay in New Orleans, he needed to be in Klaus's good books. In fact, being on the wrong side of Klaus wasn't limited to just being in New Orleans. Marcel was out of town as he'd been sent on a mission to New York to hunt down someone who had wronged Klaus.

So when Klaus turned up with a huge grin on his face, Damon was even more worried. Klaus rarely grinned unless he had some dastardly plan up his sleeve. And Damon didn't think taking Caroline into his custody was enough for the magnitude of Klaus's mirth.

"Klaus...I'm sorry, I didn't think. I just thought..." Damon started.

"It's okay mate." Klaus said in a soft, yet deadly voice. "I understand no malice was intended on your part. And Bonnie would have made Caroline a ring when they returned to Mystic Falls." he continued. "However I have to show that Caroline is fit to wear the ring, and therefore needs to come with me until she has gotten acclimatized to vampirism." he said.

"As was expected." Damon nodded. "Caroline knows and is waiting in my house, her luggage is packed."

"Good." Klaus grinned. "Now to the message Katerina left with Caroline. My witch listened in and told me all about it. What I don't get is what the spies were right about?" he narrowed his eyes.

"I heard Katherine was hooked up with Stefan. But it turned out to be Elena. However Katherine seems to think it is her and not Elena." Damon explained. "But I doubt Katherine would let Stefan cheat if they were mates. She can be very territorial when it comes to Stefan. So I think she was doing it to get to Elena."

"And do you believe her about the stake?" Klaus asked.

"Who knows?" Damon shrugged. "I don't know what happened to it after your mom did what she did to my best friend and you killed him. I was out cold after he broke my neck, remember?"

"I thought the stake initially burned with Alaric's body." Klaus reminded him.

"Well either it was indestructible or it did. However, Katherine claiming she has the stake is pretty bold, even for her. Which makes me think it's probably true." Damon winced.

"So, let us say it did survive. How would Katerina have it?" Klaus asked.

"She would have had to get it from either Elijah or Stefan." Damon sighed.

"And there we have our connection." Klaus smiled. "I think it is time you got your little brother under control Damon, for the sake of New Orleans and whatnot."

"And how do you propose I do that?" Damon asked, knowing he wasn't going to like the answer.

Klaus pressed his finger to his lip before he started to talk. "How about you take a little road trip to Mystic Falls to see your brother. I'd take the girl who is supposed to be his girlfriend with you, see if he truly has feelings for her or whether he's been let off the leash by Katerina." he sneered. "Elena needn't worry about her friends. Bonnie and Enzo are at the getting to know one another stage of their mating and I'll be taking good care of Caroline." he smirked. "Enzo can look after the club. That way I can ensure loyalty from you. I know you won't do anything stupid, and even you would do anything to make sure your brother wasn't mated to Katerina." Klaus raised an eyebrow.

Damon sighed, although he knew the answer, he had to ask the question. "And what happens if I say no?"

"We'll I'll send one of my minions to Mystic Falls, the ones who bite first and ask questions later." Klaus smiled viciously. "I would suggest my first offer is preferable to a werewolf bite, wouldn't you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow triumphantly.

"And how do you expect us to get out of New Orleans unnoticed?" Damon asked. "If Katherine has spies everywhere, we won't be able to get very far."

"Pack for your trip, then we can go back in my out SUV." Klaus suggested. "I'll make sure my witch puts a block on you and Elena so Katerina can't do a tracking spell. When we get to mine, you can leave in one of my other cars." he said.

"Mystic Falls is a long drive. Elena won't be able to cope in one day." Damon protested.

"Call me before you stop off at a motel and I'll make sure nobody is following you." Klaus told him. "I think you better get a move on mate. You've got your brother's life to save." he said before turning to Enzo. "Your job is to keep your mate in check."

"Can you look after the club?" Damon asked Enzo.

"Sure." Enzo nodded. "But I don't think Bonnie is going to like this." he said.

"Reassure her that she is helping take down one of the most dangerous vampires in history who is also a threat to her best friend, and probably her current boyfriend." Klaus suggested. "That might keep her happy and motivated."

"I guess." Enzo sighed reluctantly.

"Well then. I'll meet you in the parking lot. I'm sure it won't take long to pack and explain to Bonnie what is happening." Klaus clapped his hands together. "I want to see you, Elena and Caroline there in ten minutes." he told them as he left to go wait in the car. Damon and Enzo looked at each other with despair before returning to the house to talk to the girls.

Elena, Caroline and Bonnie looked up as Damon and Enzo returned.

"What's with the long faces?" Caroline asked.

"Elena and I have to go to Mystic Falls to find Stefan." Damon sighed. "It is the other part of the deal." he shrugged.

"And if we don't?" Elena asked.

"Klaus will send one of his hybrid minions to get the information out of him. Except Stefan won't survive his methods of extracting the truth." Damon looked down to the floor.

"Fine." Elena sighed. "How long are we going for?" she asked.

"We're going undercover. And we're driving, so I'd say around a week." Damon told her. "Caroline will be with Klaus and it gives Bonnie and Enzo time to get to know each other."

"So I get stuck with you." Elena rolled her eyes. "Wonderful. I'll go pack." she added as she turned to head to her room.

"At least you'll get to see your epic love." Damon cooed as Elena turned around and flipped him the bird before slamming her bedroom door behind her, before Damon himself left to pack for the trip.

"That went better than I expected." Enzo grinned, resulting in a tap on his arm from Bonnie. "She's going to save Stefan's life." he told her.

"That's not what I'm worried about." Bonnie frowned. "Will she be safe?"

"Of course. Damon is with her." Enzo replied confused.

"That's what I'm worried about." Bonnie told him. "You told me Damon has a terrible reputation with women."

Enzo gave Bonnie a pointed glare, hoping she'd understand. "Damon can't hurt Elena as much as I can't hurt you. He wouldn't try anything with her, it isn't an option." he told her.

Suddenly Bonnie realized what he meant. She'd suspected it herself, but couldn't be sure, however Enzo had just confirmed what she believed. It was also clear Elena didn't know herself yet, but she'd find out the moment she saw Stefan. Bonnie also picked up from Enzo that Caroline wasn't to know that Damon and Elena were mates. It didn't require her to be a genius to recognize they were protecting Elena from Klaus.

Elena was supernatural without supernatural abilities. She couldn't protect herself like Bonnie or Caroline, she was a frail human. If Klaus knew she was Damon's mate, Elena could be used to get to Damon, or possibly Stefan, if he wasn't with Katherine. The only protection they had was to act dumb, meaning Bonnie had to go along with their story. Now she understood what Enzo had meant when he said it was for the best to play nicely with Klaus.

Once Damon and Elena had returned with their luggage, they said their goodbyes to Bonnie and Enzo, before heading towards the underground parking lot. There they met Klaus and got into his large black SUV with darkened windows, preventing anyone from seeing inside.

Klaus drove them off at what seemed like breakneck speed, to what looked like an old warehouse. However when the doors opened to what turned out to be a very large garage, Elena could see Klaus owned the entire warehouse and once they reached the living quarters, she could see it was beautifully decorated. An array of artwork decorated the walls although there was still exposed brickwork. A combination of old and new furniture gave it a slightly eccentric feel, although the one thing the furniture had in common was its luxury. Everything was opulent and expensive, but carefully planned.

"You'll be staying over here love." Klaus took Caroline by the arm and led her to a bedroom, which in turn had it's own bathroom, walk-in dressing room and living room/office. Caroline was momentarily speechless at the grandeur of it all, until she regained her composure.

"Well don't think you can buy me with all of this." she said haughtily.

"Wouldn't dream of it love." Klaus smirked before turning to Damon and Elena. "You need to be kept hidden. Take this..." he said, throwing a set of car keys to Damon. "If Katerina has spies, she'll not know who is driving and won't suspect you. For all she knows, you are still at the club." he turned to Elena. "Call Stefan and tell him you are having a good time, and you'll be home next week should everything go okay. He doesn't need to know anything more than that for now. And I suggest you get going pretty soon. It won't be long before Katerina realizes you're not at the club, which will be tonight. That gives you a head start of about eighteen hours." he said. "Your luggage has already been transferred over, and there is a mini-fridge stocked with blood-bags to keep you going so that you don't eat her." Klaus glanced at Elena. "She might prove useful to getting Stefan's attention."

"Thank you Klaus." Damon shook Klaus's hand. "I won't let you down." he smiled.

"I know you won't Damon. You are one of the few around here who I do trust. Now go." Klaus told them as they returned to the parking lot.

Damon pressed the keys for the car and a large black SUV pipped, signaling that was the car he'd opened. They walked over to the car and Damon opened the door to let Elena get into the passenger seat.

"Ladies first." Damon smiled.

Elena grumpily got into the car and closed the door. The next moment the driver's side opened.

"How did you...?" Elena asked with shock.

"Did I forget to mention, vampires are very fast and very strong. And no you can't drive. I like being a living dead person. Klaus would stake me if anything happened to his car." Damon told her.

"How did you know what I was going to ask?" Elena raised an eyebrow. "Is that a mind reading skill or something?"

"Nope!" Damon shook his head and smirked. "I saw the way you looked at the car and I could tell you were itching to drive it. But the answer is no."

"And if you get tired?" Elena protested.

"We stop off at a motel." Damon replied as he started the engine and the door to the garage opened. "That's if you can handle spending the night in the same motel room as me." he winked.

"Separate beds!" Elena insisted as Damon smirked before driving them out and onward to Mystic Falls.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

**Warning for explicit language and a tiny amount of explicit sexual content.**

Damon and Elena had been on the road for almost twelve hours. They'd stopped a couple of times for the restroom and food. But it was getting late and they were looking out for motels. Initially Elena was confused by their route. They headed north to Memphis, then to Nashville. When questioned. Damon told her they were making sure nobody thought they were heading towards Mystic Falls. He didn't always take them along the major roads, instead, he used the off-beat routes to try to ensure nobody was following them.

Eventually they found a motel on the outskirts of Louisville. It wasn't luxurious, but it was clean, had two double beds, and fortunately, there was a bar just across the road. After the long drive, it was agreed they needed to relax for the rest of the evening, so the hit the bar for some liquid refreshment and a little entertainment. And for Damon, maybe a real life snack might make him feel a little better about what he was going to have to go face to face the next day with his brother, who he hadn't seen for around twenty years.

They showered and changed in the motel bathroom, before heading towards the bar. It wasn't anything special, but there was dancing and drinking, although being a Saturday night, it was already a busy. Damon managed to find them a booth while he ordered a bottle of bourbon for himself and a beer with a tequila shot for Elena.

The moment Damon handed over the tequila, Elena should have known she was in trouble. Tequila was Elena's weak spot. She tended to get quite drunk on it and was always inclined to let her hair down a little more than usual. Many a time she'd gotten in trouble with tequila at college. And a few beds she wished she hadn't ended up in too.

That was before she'd met Stefan, but they hadn't exactly been a couple for long. They had only been dating four months, but it felt like a lifetime already. The revelations about his lies were a crushing blow. Not that she minded him being a vampire, but because he'd lied to her. On top of that there was the Katherine issue, and whether or not she could truly trust him anymore. Not that any of that really mattered, because after her fifth tequila, it was no longer an issue as Stefan was as far from her mind as humanly possible. Instead her focus was on the raven-haired man on the dance-floor, who was currently dancing provocatively with a gorgeous blonde, and kissing her neck.

For some unimaginable reason, Elena was less than impressed by Damon's behavior. He was supposed to be making sure she was safe from anyone who wanted to abduct her, like maybe Katherine. But as the tequila was her predominant motivator, so she decided to return the favor and find a hot guy to dance with for herself.

Elena scanned the room, until her eyes fell on a guy who reminded her somewhat of Stefan. He wasn't anywhere near as good looking as her boyfriend, but he had similar hair and coloring. Gathering all of the courage Signor Tequila could provide, she wandered over to the hot guy and asked him to dance. The guy looked at Elena as all of his Christmas's and birthdays had come all at once, before nodding his head and following her onto the dance-floor.

To prove a point to Damon, who for some reason she couldn't see anymore, Elena pressed herself up against they guy to flirt. However, maybe because she was dating Stefan or whatever it was, something didn't feel right. It felt wrong to dance with this guy. After only a couple of songs, the guy suddenly looked uncomfortable as his eyes flashed over Elena's shoulder. Elena turned her head to see Damon stood right behind her with a smirk on his face.

"How does it feel to dance with him?" Damon whispered into her ear. "Good? Bad? Or wrong?" he asked.

Elena let go of the guy and turned to face Damon, who had clearly ditched the woman he was dancing with.

"It felt as good to me as that girl did to you." Elena smirked.

"You mean dinner?" Damon raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean dinner?" Elena shrieked.

"Shh!" Damon looked around furtively and put his finger to his lip. "Do you want the who bar to hear?" Damon then turned his focus on the guy Elena had been dancing with. "You never saw either of us, spoke to us or danced with this girl. You danced alone." he compelled the guy.

"I never saw either of you and I danced alone." the guy said in a robotic voice, before turning around and continuing to dance by himself.

"What did you do?" Elena glared at Damon, who wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I compelled him to fuck off so I can protect you." he smirked, resulting in a slap on his arm from Elena.

"And how were you protecting me when you had your face in that woman's neck before you both disappeared to do god knows what?" Elena demanded.

"I was feeding from her." Damon told her as he pulled her in tighter. "Tomorrow we might be facing Katherine, and I'm going to need as much ammunition as I can find. And for that, blood bags just don't quite cut it." he said.

"What's the difference?" Elena frowned as they swayed together to the music.

Damon thought for a moment before answering. "When vampires drink human blood, they become stronger. Fresh blood is always better than what is in blood bags. The best analogy is that it is more nutritious." he smiled.

"So how does Stefan survive on animals?" Elena asked.

"He survives. That's all." Damon explained. "Yes, he's still stronger, faster, and has better senses than a human, but nothing like what a vampire has who has been drinking human blood. His compulsion skills must really suck, and he wouldn't even be able to fight off Caroline, despite being almost a hundred and fifty years older than her."

"So animal blood the worst, human blood from the vein best, but you generally survive on blood bags." Elena surmised.

Damon nodded. "Makes life easier that way. Can't keep compelling people to forget us all of the time. And sometimes, things get messy, and unfortunately, dead bodies happen. If it weren't for blood bags, at lot more people would die." he added.

"But aren't you taking them from the hospitals?" Elena asked.

Damon shook his head. "Klaus has a deal going on to have a blood drive for those who can't donate blood under normal circumstances. People who have diseases that would make it impossible for someone to be given their blood. People who are on medication which makes their blood unusable. So we have a blood drive for the unusable blood. These people are paid for their services by Klaus. It is literally his blood bank." he shrugged.

"And I'm guessing being on Klaus's good sis perks with the blood bank." Elena deduced.

"We get blood at discounted rates. It means we don't have to steal them. We just have to earn a living to pay for it." Damon explained. "It keeps us all in check. Having New Orleans as a great place to visit is good for both humans and vampires. Klaus is keeping everyone happy."

"Do the humans know about vampires?" Elena asked.

"The relevant people who need to know are in the know." Damon told her. "Anyway, enough of the politics of New Orleans. Let us enjoy the evening. Because I'm most certainly enjoying dancing with you." he whispered as he rested his head against Elena's.

That was when Elena had the strangest sensation. She felt like she was finally at _home_ in Damon's arms. Elena felt confused for a moment. She had never felt such a powerful, non-sexual draw to anyone in her life. The previous night she had felt an incredible amount of lust towards Damon. But in his arms, she felt like she was in the right place, which was absurd as they hardly knew each other. Not only that, but he was a notorious playboy and a known killer. She shouldn't be attracted to someone like him. Then it began to dawn on her, was it attraction, or were they mates. If they were, they would be monogamous for the rest of their lives, unless they chose otherwise.

The more Elena thought about it as she relaxed into him, the more it made sense. However, the idea of it all scared her. Damon himself had made it clear he didn't want a mate, and had been avoiding getting intimate with other supernatural beings because of this. But if they were mates, surely Damon would know and would have said something to her. The fact that he didn't suggested it must be her imagination, and it was partly Signor Tequila talking, and the fact that Damon made her feel so good, on top of him being, in her eyes, the single hottest creature on the planet. She decided to put the notion to the back of her head and pretend it was never there in the first place, and just enjoy feeling safe.

After another hour of drinking and dancing, they decided to call it a night. Elena had questioned Damon about what it was like to be a vampire and what all of their tricks were. Although she knew what Damon was and what he could do, she felt oddly safe with him watching over her. It was as if she knew he wouldn't hurt her, whether it was misguided or not, she was about to find out.

Elena showered first before climbing into bed and closing her eyes to try and go to sleep. Damon had told her he could see just as well at night as in the day, so she turned all of the lights out in the room. The only light was coming through the bathroom door where Damon was showering, and moonlight shining through the window.

The thought of Damon in the shower, naked, was doing all sorts of things to Elena, mostly driving her crazy with desire. All she wanted, was to go and join him and have red hot sex in the shower. However, her wishful thinking was cut short she she heard the water stop running. A few moments later he returned from the bathroom. Elena could make out his inky black hair was wet, but that wasn't what took her breath away. All he was wearing were low slung jeans, which were practically falling from his hips.

Elena's eyes drifted up, taking in his dark treasure trail, licking her lips at the prospect of what it led to. She took in the rest of his perfectly formed body. There wasn't an ounce of fat on him. He was extremely toned, but not overdone like some men. She could tell he was probably alabaster white, which was normally a huge turn-off, but for some reason, on Damon it was extremely attractive. It contrasted his dark features, making him look like a sinister angel.

As Damon sat down on the chair and poured himself a glass of whiskey, all Elena could think about is what she wanted to do in that moment, which was investigate where his treasure trail led to, and maybe even take him in her mouth. She new he'd taste clean as he was fresh from the shower, and the thought of that alone was a huge turn on. However her train of thought stopped when she realized Damon was staring back at her. Suddenly, Elena felt embarrassed. She'd never been that much into sex before. She enjoyed it, but not enough to have erotic thoughts about someone. Elena just hoped Damon hadn't been able to work out the dirty thoughts running through her mind.

On cue, Damon got up, slipped a shirt over his shoulders and made his way to her bed. Elena shuffled over to let him lie next to her, even though he did have his own bed, but she couldn't refuse, and after all, the closer he was, the safer she was, right. That was her excuse and she was sticking to it. Unfortunately, her body was betraying her mind and she clung tightly to the comforter to try and keep her thoughts pure, which was almost impossible with Adonis personified laying next to her.

"What were you thinking?" Damon asked, although Elena suspected he already knew, therefore she needed to come up with something fast, and was surprised with herself when she did.

"I was wondering how old you were when you turned." Elena replied.

"I was twenty five." Damon told her. "Born in eighteen thirty nine." he added. "Why?"

"I dunno." Elena sighed. "I suspected around your mid-twenties. Is there anything you miss about being human?" she asked.

Damon thought for a moment. "It's not being human I miss, but the people I've lost over the years." he sighed wistfully. "Why? You thinking about joining the club?" he joked.

"No." Elena shook her head. "I want a family." she told him.

"Well the only chance you'll have of that is with your mate." Damon told her. "And what about when you've had your children with your mate? Would you consider turning after that? To watch over your family from generation to generation?" he asked.

"My mate might be a witch." Elena suggested.

"Really?" Damon raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure he's not a vampire?"

"You said yourself it isn't Stefan." Elena swallowed, wondering where Damon was taking this conversation.

"I'm not talking about my brother." Damon said. "I'm talking about the vampire you are having thoughts about that are significantly dirtier thoughts about than you'd ever consider yourself possible to imagine."

"I don't know what you mean." Elena blushed and looked away, wondering if Damon had omitted mind reading from his vampire abilities. "How do you know I've met my mate yet?"

Damon huffed. "I'll let you figure it out." he whispered as Elena sat up.

"I need some air!" she said as she got out of bed and slipped on her converse before heading outside.

Elena hadn't been lying when she told Damon she needed air. His presence was stifling, and she was worried Damon was simply making a play on her hormones to lure her into bed, and she had to remember she had a boyfriend back in Mystic Falls, although Stefan was suddenly becoming a distant memory, especially as her desperate need for Damon was getting stronger by the minute. Meanwhile, Elena was trying to push away her need for Damon, and it was becoming exhausting. Tears of frustration sprung to her eyes.

Behind her, Elena heard a door closing. She didn't need to turn around to know it was Damon.

"Don't!" Elena gulped.

"Hush. It'll be okay." Damon whispered into her ear reassuringly, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "I know it's a lot to take in right now."

Elena rested her head back on Damon's shoulder, deciding to see if he was experiencing the same as her. "I'm scared." she whimpered.

"Me too." Damon admitted. "I've tried to avoid it all my life as I thought it would be like a prison sentence, and I liked my life the way it was." he told her. "But everything has changed since meeting you."

"Are we...?" Elena finally found the courage to ask.

"Yes." Damon replied. "That pulling feeling you have, and when everything feels like home in my arms, I get with you. I have an indescribable urge to protect you. I probably can't compel you, and right now the thought of drinking your blood repulses me."

"Why is it so intense?" Elena asked, finally beginning to relax.

"The spirits are pushing us to consummate. Neither of us have magic to ease the need. I'm guessing Bonnie will have cast a spell to help them until she tells your brother." Damon told her. "We have to rely on sheer willpower." he sighed. "And to do that, I will be a gentleman and completely cover up and sleep in the other bed." he told her. "Let's get back inside."

Elena nodded in agreement as they made their way back in and got into their respective beds. They both lay there for a few minutes trying to sleep, but their need for each other was growing by the minute, to the point of becoming painful. This was when Elena realized it wasn't about sex itself, it was definitely something bigger than that.

"Damon." Elena complained. "It hurts being so far away from you."

"I know." Damon agreed. "It's pretty painful for me too."

"Maybe if we share a bed and just cuddled, it might help." Elena suggested. "Has anyone told you what happens if you hold out?" she asked.

"It's never been done." Damon told her. "Witches can slow it down, but only by a week or so."

"So it won't be affecting Bonnie as much as it will be Enzo?" Elena asked.

"It will feel the same to both of them." Damon explained. "If she slows the symptoms down for herself, it slows it down for Enzo. Our symptoms mirror each other. I know what you need, and you know what I need."

"Well that's good to know." Elena said. "And what about the cuddling?" she asked.

"It might help ease the pain." Damon agreed. "But the physical intimacy might make it impossible for us to resist consummation." he warned.

"I'll take the risk." Elena said as Damon got out of his bed in climbed under the comforter of Elena's bed.

They wrapped themselves in each others arms, taking in one anothers scent. But as Damon predicted, after about a minute of experiencing some relief, the pain of desperate need came once again. However this time, it was twice as painful.

"So what do we do now?" Damon asked. "Cuddling clearly isn't working. Our bodies are telling us it isn't enough."

"Maybe a kiss?" Elena suggested. "It's not taking it too far, and hopefully it will help alleviate some of the need."

"Elena, the moment we kiss, we won't be able to stop." Damon warned her. "The consummation will overwhelm us, we will lose control."

"I think we're pretty much past that point right now, don't you?" Elena raised an eyebrow, before snuggling her head into Damon's chest and placing her hand on it to touch his skin.

"Whatever happens, you have to initiate the consummation." Damon told her. "Unless it is a gay mating, the woman always has to initiate anything that could lead to the consummation."

"So we are relying solely on my willpower?" Elena asked.

"Uh-huh." Damon replied.

"We are so screwed." Elena whispered as she pressed her lips against Damon's chest, just where his heart was beating a slow methodical thud.

The moment Elena's lips met Damon's skin, her world suddenly turned upside down, and she knew she'd lost control.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

**Warning for lots of explicit sexual content and bad language.**

**Enjoy.**

Elena looked up at Damon in shock. It had been described as powerful, but what she was experiencing right now was something she couldn't even categorize. All she knew is she needed Damon in every way possible, and she wouldn't be whole as a person until they had sealed the deal, as Damon had crudely put it. Elena lifted her hand to cup Damon's face, pulling him forward to kiss her.

"Are you sure you want to do this Elena?" Damon asked. "Once it is done, it is for life." he warned her.

"Do we have much of a choice?" Elena asked.

"We can try and delay it." Damon suggested.

"What for? To tell Stefan? I think he will understand." Elena smiled as she ran her fingers down Damon's chest.

"I think you overestimate my brother's abilities to forgive." Damon laughed.

"Does it matter?" Elena asked. "It doesn't change anything. It is out of our control. I'm not really cheating on him, and he should have known that I would have a mate somewhere because I'm supernatural. And it's not as if there's a chance he already has a mate." she raised an eyebrow.

"As long as you are sure." Damon said softly.

"I've never been more sure about anything in my life." Elena whispered as she moved her mouth to his.

Elena knew she was no longer able to resist him, the need for him inside her was too strong. She placed her hands around his neck and pressed her lips against his. Damon pulled Elena in tight, his large hands on the small of her back, sending jolts of electricity up her spine and between her legs, from just his touch. Elena had read about fireworks and kisses in cheesy romance novels, yet that was exactly how it felt, and she knew she'd never be able to get enough of him. Whatever magic was influencing them, it was intoxicating.

Their hands found each others faces while they parted their lips, their tongues meeting for the first time. Damon tasted of mint and whiskey, mixed in with a scent she'd come to recognize as uniquely Damon. Their hands roamed in a desperate measure to touch one another, even if they were still almost fully clothed. Although they barely knew each other, Elena felt a sense of belonging, a newness yet also a familiarity. Elena experienced that sensation of being home once more.

Their tongues delved into each other's mouths, sweeping, probing, tasting and devouring. Fire and longing burned throughout Elena's body. Every piece of skin where Damon lay his hands sent shock waves of desire deep into the pit of her stomach. Damon rolled on top of Elena and entwined his fingers with hers. This accelerated their need. This was no longer just a desperate need to kiss, the consummation was forcing them to act upon their sexual desires. Not that Elena was anything other than willing to adhere to. Elena could tell she wasn't the only one feeling this way as Damon was clearly extremely turned on, judging by feeling the hardness beneath the denim of his jeans.

Damon's mouth moved down Elena's neck and made its way down to her chest. Elena couldn't believe this was happening for real. To make sure she wasn't imagining what they were doing. Elena lifted Damon's head so she could look into his eyes, unsure of what to expect, although lust would have been high up her list. But instead Elena was surprised to see a look of what appeared to be pure unadulterated love. Admittedly, there was also a look of wonderment, shock and a little bit of fear. But that was to be expected after almost a century and a half of Damon doing everything trying to avoid finding his mate.

Damon was right, the moment their lips touched, whatever came next would be inevitable. Technically Elena could have stopped the kiss, but the magic pushing them to force them to consummate was too strong. To some it may feel forced and unromantic, but to Elena it felt safe as they were born to be soulmates and that was the hand destiny had thrown her. She'd just gotten lucky in having the hottest soulmate on the planet. Whether it was his looks or him being her mate, it was irrelevant, her body craved Damon's touch in ways she'd never imagined possible.

Elena allowed her hands roam down Damon's chest. Only a few minutes earlier, she'd been mesmerized by it. Now she was able to run her fingers up and down the cool skin of his chest. His skin was soft and smooth, with the occasional hairs, especially as she ventured further south, closing in on his treasure trail. His body felt as perfectly sculptured, lean and muscular, as it looked. The overall effect of her exploration of Damon's body had on her made for an enormous turn on. Elena couldn't quite believe just touching another being could leave her feeling so hot and bothered.

While on of Damon's hands continued to remain entwined with hers, the other began to roam down the sides of her body, cupping her breast and taking in the shape of her body. Yet in some ways he was still a gentleman. Other than the exposed skin, he never pushed things further. It was as if he was still allowing Elena to call the shots and to let her decide how far they were going to take things, although considering the circumstances and his vampire senses, Damon was probably aware of how far Elena ready to go. He knew he didn't need to push her as she would lead the way. Elena desperately wanted to do things she'd never dreamed of before. She didn't care if every person in the motel could hear them. All concept of shame left her. She would do whatever he wanted as he would do whatever she wanted, regardless of who could hear them, but she couldn't tell Damon that. In fact she decided to tell him the opposite before they found their own way together.

Elena pulled away for a moment, prompting Damon to pout. "Do you mind if we take it slow at first?" she asked.

"I'll do anything you want me to." he whispered into her ear, his voice barely audible. "I'll make love to you slowly, or I'll fuck you from behind, or I could tie you up. Hell, you could tie me up. Whatever you want and feels right to you is what I want."

"But won't that be boring for you?" Elena asked, her first concern being aired. "You've been with so many women."

"Elena, we were made for each other." Damon explained. "Sex between mates is more than just sex, and no other partner will ever come close to giving the pleasure mates can give to one another, even with the most boring sex. Which, with mates it is impossible to have." he raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Mates always know what each other wants."

"Oh." Elena frowned. "Does that mean no spontaneous sex?" she asked.

"I think we can manage that." Damon chuckled before his lips brushed against hers.

As they began to kiss, Elena wrapped her legs around Damon's waist so she could feel the hardness in jeans press against her. It was then she realized their clothes were becoming offensive obstructions to get to what they wanted, which was each other. Therefore, Elena pushed Damon's shirt from his shoulders and wrapped her arms around Damon's neck, pulling him in tighter. Damon reached down and pulled at the hem of Elena's top, she quickly lifted her arms to help him pull it off. Once removed, Damon threw it onto the floor. He pressed his chest against hers, leaving enough room for him to massage one of Elena's breasts.

"God you're beautiful Elena." he whispered as they began to kiss once more.

"So are you." Elena mumbled into the kiss.

One of Elena's hands made it's way down Damon's back, while the fingernails on her other hand scraped the nape of his neck, causing him to moan into her mouth. He ghosted his fingers down the side of her body, before cupping her behind and running his fingers under her thigh. Damon pulled Elena's leg from around his waist and removed her slipper and then repeated the action with the other side of her body. Throughout all of this, their kisses were fervently passionate.

Suddenly Damon pulled Elena up from the bed and had her stood so they were stood in front of the mirror and her back was pressed up against his chest. He pushed her hair to one side and started to kiss her neck. One hand cupped her breast, while the other slid down her pants to meet her heated core.

"Shit Elena." Damon mumbled into her ear. "You're already wet." he whispered as his lips caressed her neck.

"The effect you have on me is like magic." Elena started to giggle, however Damon's following actions soon turned he giggles into moans of pleasure.

Damon's fingers parted Elena's folds, allowing them to move down towards her entrance. Elena rested her head back on Damon's shoulder and covered his hand which was massaging her breast with her own. In the meantime her other hand slid behind her back until she felt the buttons of his jeans, which were only partially done up. Elena unfastened the next button, her hand moved inside his jeans, finding him without any underwear. She took his already erect length in her hands and freed it from its denim confines. Damon hissed with pleasure at Elena's touch as she began to stroke the silky soft skin of his hard shaft. As if to repay the debt of pleasure, Damon's fingers made their way inside Elena's core which increased the throbbing between her legs.

"Oh god Damon, that's good." she whispered as he thrust his fingers in and out of her.

Pretty soon Elena was riding Damon's fingers as he simultaneously massaged her clit, while she was still pumping him with her hand. When Elena thought she was just near to her climax, Damon stopped, turned her around and pulled her pants down, including her panties. He removed them completely so that she was standing completely naked in front of him. Under normal circumstances, Elena would have felt extremely embarrassed, however with Damon she'd lost all semblance of self-consciousness. She wanted Damon in every way possible and being naked with him was a necessity. However, it did occur to her this was part of being mates. In each others eyes they would always be perfect, so their was no need to feel uncomfortable about nudity. If anything it was to be embraced and enjoyed.

Damon got down on his knees and parted Elena's legs. Momentarily she wondered what he was doing, however her question was quickly answered as his fingers once more entered her core, but this time he used his mouth on her nub and tongue on her folds. Damon's free hand reached up and massaged one of Elena's breasts, while his mouth and fingers worked her furiously with one end goal, to bring her to her release.

Elena used the dresser behind her to help her balance with one hand, while the other gripped Damon's hair as she threw her head back while allowing the pleasure to overtake her. The combination of his mouth and fingers worked in perfect unison. The heat which had been pooling in the pit of Elena's stomach was threatening to erupt and boil over. Elena's moans of pleasure became louder with every lick, thrust and suck.

Although this wasn't a first for Elena, she'd never felt comfortable or confident enough to be adventurous in bed or with foreplay, therefore she had limited experience of oral sex. And on no previous occasion had she actually enjoyed it. She wasn't sure if that was down to her previous sexual partners or because she was with Damon, and he was her mate. But this time, she felt free as a bird, meaning she no longer cared about opinions, because not only would Damon not judge, but he would want more foreplay to enhance the experience. His earlier reassurance regarding them being better for each other than anyone else, made her feel more comfortable with what they were doing and heightened her trust in him. And right now, all she could concentrate on was the fact that Damon was proving himself right as he seemed to know how to press the right buttons to reduce Elena to a quivering mess, in all the right ways.

he volume of Elena's moans increased with every swipe of Damon's tongue. He was taking her closer to the brink of an orgasm of epic proportions. The heat in the pit of her stomach was now a volcano of molten lava, ready to erupt with the next seismic event.

"Oh yes...please Damon...don't stop. Oh..." Elena's eyes momentarily rolled into the back of her head, as she moved her hips and held on tighter to his hair. She looked down at him only to see he was watching her intently, reading her every expression, discovering exactly what she liked the most.

Damon had clearly been doing his homework as Elena spotted a smirk in his eyes as his tongue touched her most sensitive spot. He thrust his fingers inside her once more and the volcano inside her erupted with more force than she thought possible.

"Oh my god...Damon...Damon...yes...yes..." Elena cried. "Aagh!" her back arched as spasms took over from the throbbing between her legs. The burning heat took over her body as she tried her hardest not to scream. Damon sucked harder on her nub, prolonging her orgasm as wave upon wave of pleasure crashed over her. Electric shocks shooting up through her body. Elena began to get lightheaded and her body went momentarily rigid, not knowing whether she could cope with the onslaught of need taking over her.

For his part, Damon stopped what he was doing with his mouth. He removed his fingers and held her hips, kissing her stomach at the same time. This seemed to steady Elena as her legs were beginning to turn to jello. Her climax finally subsided and she dropped her head, curtaining Damon with her hair. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders for support.

Eventually Damon stood up, pulled Elena towards him and kissed her. Elena was able to taste herself on him while she also realized he was now completely naked as she could also feel his erection poking into her stomach. She wondered when he'd lost his jeans, but decided not to bother asking and put it down to vampire speed undressing.

"That tongue of yours is going to get you out of a lot of trouble Mr Salvatore." Elena whispered saucily.

"Well Miss Gilbert." Damon smirked. "It has gotten me into trouble a few times. It's about time it got me out of trouble." he added softly, his face turning serious as he kissed her once more.

Their tongues danced and entwined as they kissed. Hands roamed over each others bodies, free to touch one another, skin on skin. They were both desperate to explore each other. But more than anything else, Elena simply wanted Damon inside her. To feel their bodies uniting together as one, while they drove each other to the precipice of pleasure, and then over it. Whether it was lust or because they were mates needing to consummate, Elena no longer cared as she wrapped her hands around Damon's neck while he picked her up and walked them back over to the bed before breaking away from the kiss.

Gently Damon lay her down on the bed and looked at her with an adoring, but serious look.

"I'm going to ask you one time Elena." Damon whispered into her ear. "Are you sure you want to do this? Once we've gone all the way, there's no turning back."

"I want you inside of me...now!" Elena demanded.

Gently, Damon pushed his length inside Elena. Their bodies fit perfectly together as one, as if they were an unfinished jigsaw puzzle, which was finally complete. Elena laced her fingers in one of his hands, letting him lead the way, while his other hand was gently massaging her nub. Slowly he pulled out and thrust back inside, this time with a little more force as a little moan of pleasure escaped from Elena's lips. She heard Damon growl at her response, sending heat to her already over sensitive core.

Initially Damon took things slowly until they built a rhythm together. Damon's lips found Elena's neck as he nibbled, nipped, licked and sucked on it, peppering kisses in between, which Elena found highly erotic. Nothing could have prepared her for the beauty of Damon making love to her.

Damon moaned quietly into Elena's ear. "I love you so much Elena, more than anything in the world." he whispered.

"Oh I think I do." Elena smiled as she turned her head to look at him. "Because I feel the same way too."

In that moment she knew Damon was her soulmate. Since they met and she'd discovered more about the supernatural world, she'd been denying to herself who Damon was to her. She knew, in future, no matter what Damon did, she would forgive him. No matter how bad she treated him, he would still treat her like she was a goddess. Not being around each other was impossible. It appeared, the consummation was what triggered love in their relationship. Elena now knew Damon would be the last man she loved. The thought made Elena smile as she wrapped her arm around Damon's neck and pulled him towards her mouth as they kissed passionately once more.

Damon, to Elena's surprise, pulled out of her and broke away from the kiss as he jumped on the bed and lay on his back. He pulled Elena on top of him so that she straddled his hips. Elena didn't need any explanations for this position. Slowly Elena lowered herself onto Damon's cock, her eyes rolling into the back of her head with the sensation. Damon placed his hands on Elena's hips to help support her weight as she placed her hands on his chest. He lifted her hips and pulled her down as he thrust himself inside her. Although she could tell he was still being gentle, he moved with more force to ensure he hit the right spot with the right amount of stimulation for Elena.

Elena began to circle her hips, while Damon continued to thrust in and out of her. Their breathing became heavier, turning into pants as they exerted far more energy than they had earlier. Elena bent down and placed her hands either side of Damon's head and kissed him. Her hair falling around them cutaining them in their own private little world of love, need and desire.

Damon stroked Elena's cheek affectionately as their bodies became hotter from their desperate need for each other despite the cold November weather. Their bodies became slick with sweat caused by the friction of moving together. The sound of skin slapping on skin was added to the moans and pants of pleasure coming from their mouths.

"Damon...oh my god yes." Elena breathed as she threw her head back.

"Elena." Damon chanted her name as if it was a prayer back as his mouth reached up to one of her nipples and began to suck on it.

Suddenly Damon sat up. Elena looked down at him as she moved her hips with greater vigor than before. Her aching core was becoming overly heated and the throbbing was on the verge of becoming something more. They kissed, bit and sucked each other's lips. Elena cupped Damon's face in her hands, not wanting to ever let him go. Damon slid one of his hands between them and began to massage her clit.

"I think I'm gonna come." Elena panted.

"And I want you to come for me Elena." Damon begged, his voice deeply seductive, while his eyes looking up at her with complete love and adoration.

All she needed were his words, eyes and talented fingers along with his deep penetration to push Elena over the edge. The burning inside her had finally reached a point of no return as white hot convulsions took over her core.

"Oh my god...Damon..." she cried out as he continued to thrust deep inside her. Elena threw her head back as the contractions of pleasure wreaked havoc through her body. "Oh yes...oh yes...oh...aargh..." she screamed.

Damon rolled them over once more, so he was on top as he laced his fingers through hers. He thrust inside her hard and fast, keeping the momentum of Elena's climax going, alerting her to his own impending orgasm. Elena's back arched as she dug her fingernails into the back Damon's hands. She moved her own hips as best she could, wanting to help Damon come for her. She had to see his face as he reached his own climax, which Elena knew would be soon as her own orgasm would be milking his length to achieve his own climax.

"Aargh...fuck...Elena..." Damon whispered as he thrust into her one more time before his face screwed up with agonizing pleasure.

Elena felt Damon's warm seed fill her as he found his own release. He growled with pleasure, before breathlessly lowering himself on top of her. He kissed her chastely before resting his head in the crook of Elena's neck.

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

Elena woke the next morning feeling at complete peace and a little sore at the same time. Once they'd completed the consummation, she and Damon decided to make love in the shower, on the floor, on the dresser and back on the bed, just to make sure they'd got it right. Eventually, they fallen asleep, tangled in each others arms, hardly daring to let go.

They had declared their love for each other last night, which may have appeared premature under normal circumstances, but in between their love making, Damon told her it was normal and the consummation itself would trigger the feelings to ensure they were mated for life. The other strange thing was how she suddenly knew everything about Damon's past, just like he suddenly knew hers. They were able to share each others memories. After that, they had a limited sense of one anothers emotions. They understood each other better than any married couple, and it all happened during sex.

After a few moments of being awake, Damon also roused. He automatically knew she couldn't make love again for a short while, even if he was raring to go. He didn't need to ask as he could automatically sense she was sore. This was the potency of their connection. However, they couldn't read each others minds, forcing speech to still be a necessity.

"Did you know it would be like this?" Elena asked.

Damon frowned. "I'd heard things, but I never believed it. Not until I felt it." he told her.

"Do you regret it?" Elena pried.

"It is the worst thing I ever did." Damon joked, before turning serious. "There's nothing to regret. I'm happier now than I've ever been, and I know that as long as we are together, then that will stay like that." he smiled sadly.

"You want me to turn don't you?" Elena lowered her eyes.

"Only if you want to." Damon promised. "I won't force you. But if we are able to have a family, I'd prefer us to do that first before you turn." he added.

That seemed to satisfy Elena to a degree, but there was still a burning question. "But how will we know if we can?"

"The Bennett witches are experts on the Petrova doppelgangers. They've been shadowing them for centuries." Damon told her. "It's not coincidence you and Bonnie are best friends. They are drawn together. Katherine currently has Lucy Bennett as her witch."

"So that was what Nandi meant when she mentioned the other witch had gone bad." Elena frowned as Damon nodded in response.

"The New Orleans witches hate Klaus." Damon told her. "But at the same time, they are very protective of him."

"Why?" Elena asked.

"Marcel." Damon replied. "He wanted a complete ban on witches practicing magic, but Klaus was able to override him." he went on. "Katherine is a threat to Klaus as she has already killed one of Klaus's brothers and caused a major rift between himself and Elijah, who he was very close to until they met Katherine."

"What happened to Elijah?" Elena asked.

"That is a very good question." Damon sighed. "I never met him as he disappeared over five hundred years ago. Klaus has had every witch he could find try and locate him, but Elijah is either cloaked or dead." he added pushing a strand of hair behind Elena's ear.

"So Klaus is the good brother and Elijah is the bad brother." Elena surmised.

"It depends who you ask." Damon told her. "Those I know who met Elijah swore it was the other way around, and that he was simply blinded by love for Katherine. I think he was just sucked in by her like the rest of us."

"Could he be mated and be protecting his mate from Klaus?" Elena asked.

"I think that's the most likely reason." Damon nodded.

"Could Katherine be his mate?" Elena frowned.

"I doubt it." Damon shook his head. "He'd have had to allow her to cheat with pretty much every man in sight. And if he felt for her anything like what I feel for you, there isn't a chance in hell of that happening." he smiled.

"Not even if it was to protect her?" she asked.

Damon thought for a moment. "I guess. But we're new to this. If they were mates, then they'd have been together longer and might have liked the idea of a change of scenery." he smirked.

"Don't you get any ideas." Elena slapped Damon on the arm playfully. "How are we going to find out if Katherine is mated with Stefan?" she asked.

"I have a plan, but you're not going to like it." he told her.

"Go on." Elena said in a resigned voice, she had a bad feeling about what he was about to suggest.

"I want you to dress up as Katherine." Damon told her. "If Stefan is hesitant for even a moment, we'll know they aren't mated. Instinct drives us to know the presence of our mate without even seeing them."

"And how do we know how Katherine looks right now?" Elena asked.

Damon winced. "Please don't be mad." he said.

"What did you do?" Elena raised an eyebrow.

"I looked into Caroline's mind while we were at my house." Damon told her. "I saw what Katherine looked like before she killed her. I can guide you." he smiled.

"Were you already forming this plan back then?" Elena frowned.

"I wanted to know how to spot her from a distance." Damon explained. "You look alike, but you don't." he said.

"But we're mates. You just said..." Elena started.

"That only works once we'd consummated, I didn't know when that would happen." Damon sighed. "But at least it gives us an advantage. Stefan won't know we're mated at first and won't expect me to know what Katherine looks like these days." he smiled. "You look different, but with a little work, I'm sure we can turn you into the she-devil." he grinned.

"Then we best get up and ready for action." Elena sighed.

"I know." Damon complained. "I just want to lie here, forever with you in my arms and the outside world can go fuck itself! But if we are to truly give you the Katherine look, we'll need to go to Atlanta." he said.

"Why Atlanta?" Elena asked.

"Katherine wouldn't be seen dead in anything less than the most expensive designer clothes." he told her. "I doubt we'll find anything like that around here."

"Fine!" Elena sighed as she made to get up, however Damon pulled her back into bed.

"One more kiss, for the road?" he pouted.

Elena smiled and curled back up in Damon's arms as they began to kiss as if their lives depended on it.

A few hours later they left Atlanta after shopping for an outfit befitting of Katherine, and suitable make-up, plus a set of curling irons as Elena always wore her hair straight, however the difference between the doppelgangers was Katherine had curly hair. Instead of driving straight to Mystic Falls, they stopped off once again in a motel on the outskirts of town, to prepare for Elena to dress up as Katherine when she met Stefan. It turned out, Damon could even pick up Katherine's perfume from the memory, just to make sure they had the whole facade perfected.

While in Atlanta, Damon had picked up a few blood-bags from the hospital, and fed on a couple of nurses, because he was going to need to be at his absolute strongest later that day, and blood-bags just weren't enough for what he needed. Needless to say, Elena wasn't impressed by Damon's behavior, however he assured her the nurces were still alive and fine. He'd even fed them a little of his blood to help them recover. This seemed to ease Elena's fears somewhat, but she still wasn't comfortable with the situation.

Damon was going to make sure Stefan was about, but out before they turned up. They didn't want Stefan to know either of them were there. The plan was for Elena to wait for Stefan in his room. Fortunately, Uncle Zach, Damon and Stefan's distant nephew, was away visiting his mother's side of the family, which gave Damon and Elena the perfect opportunity to put their plan into motion. However, the first part was to get Elena to look like Katherine.

"Looks Elena, you know you can trust me." Damon sighed. "It's not mind control, I'm putting an image into your head." he explained.

"An image you stole from Caroline." Elena complained.

"Which could end up saving her life." Damon insisted. "Now do you want to know what Katherine looked like?" he asked. Elena sighed and nodded, as Damon put his hands on her temple. "Close your eyes." he told her, as she did as she was told. "I'm projecting the image now."

Suddenly, the image of a woman who looked almost identical to Elena, except for some minor differences appeared in Elena's head. The woman's hair was curlier than hers, and Katherine projected a cat-like stealth about her. She was undoubtedly much sexier than Elena, in some ways. But other than that, they were absolutely identical.

Elena opened her eyes. "That's freaky." she said. "We look the same, but different." she frowned.

"It's all about body language." Damon insisted. "Katherine oozes sexual confidence. You have an air of innocence about you." he smiled. "Although I know different." he whispered in a sing-song voice.

"And how do I learn how to ooze sexual confidence?" Elena asked, folding her arms.

"Not by folding your arms." Damon pointed out. "Personally, I prefer you to the slutty image Katherine portrays. But you share the same looks and you are beautiful. Katherine knows that, and after five hundred years of practice, she can use it to her advantage. Although if she is mated, it will always be one-sided." he said.

"I haven't got five hundred years to practice." Elena complained. "Mine is closer to five minutes."

"Don't worry." Damon assured her. "I'll have you swaying those hips like the minx you have the potential to be, in no time. But first, lets make you look like Katherine." he said. "Do you think you can put your make-up on like her?" he asked. "Only I'm not exactly an expert in that area."

"Oh I think I can manage that." Elena smiled. "You might have to help with the hair though." she added as a look of horror took over Damon's face, causing Elena to laugh. "So killing someone is easy, but using a curling iron is a bit beyond your skills?" she teased.

Damon's expression changed to that of someone who was up for a challenge. "Never let it be said that Damon Salvatore is not prepared to move heaven and earth to beat the bad guys, even it requires learning how to use a curling iron." he frowned. "But, I am concerned about the damage I could do to your hair." he admitted.

"I'll show you what to do with it." Elena laughed. "It's easy."

"Hmm." Damon frowned, seemingly unconvinced.

Two hours later, Elena had been transformed from her usual self, to looking like her evil doppelganger. Damon turned out to be quite good with a curling iron, and the image he'd put into her head, gave Elena a good foundation for how to put her make-up on. Next she had to get dressed. They'd bought her a pair of black skinny jeans, a burgundy camisole and black denim jacket, all extremely expensive designer labels. Elena had winced at the price, claiming these clothes would never be worn again, however Damon suggested they might be wearable under different circumstances.

It wasn't the clothes themselves which were the main problem, it was the shoes. Elena was more comfortable in converse than anything with a heel, although she did wear them when she went out. However, she didn't wear shoes like the ones she was currently attempting to walk in. They were little black designer ankle boots with very high heels. For Katherine, this wouldn't be a problem, as her powers of healing meant she wouldn't suffer with blisters from wearing them. Elena on the other hand was human, and knew the consequences of what she was doing. She was tempted to ask for Damon to feed her some of his blood to help them heal, but she didn't want him to laugh at her, also he hadn't offered. Elena wasn't sure why, but she decided she'd wait until later to ask him, just in case she was crippled for life.

Elena's next task was to try and walk like Katherine. This was no mean feat considering how uncomfortable the shoes were and the fact she could barely walk in them at all. But after about an hour, she finally got the idea. Damon had eventually suggested she try walking like a catwalk model, which seemed to do the trick, although she was still a little wobbly. They just hoped she wouldn't have to pretend too long, so that they could determine whether Stefan was mated with Katherine or not.

Finally, Elena had to speak like Katherine. This part was slightly easier, as she had Katherine's voice to work with from the replay of what happened to Caroline. All Elena needed to do was sound a little bitchier and seductive, then hopefully she would get away with it.

The plan was Elena was going to wait in Stefan's room for him to return. She was going to initially pretend to be Katherine. If he knew it was Elena at first sight, it meant the chances of him being mated to Katherine were higher, although not conclusive. If he was unsure who he was looking at, then they would have a fair idea he wasn't mated, which was what they hoped. If he wasn't, then depending on how he took Elena's mating with Damon, it would determine whether Stefan could be counted to be on their side or not. If so, he might be useful going undercover to infiltrate Katherine's plans for Klaus. This, however could still be problematic, as Stefan and Klaus weren't exactly best buddies. However, Klaus dying could spell disaster for the New Orleans witches and Damon's blood perks. Damon was hoping to prey of Stefan's conscience regarding helping him to not kill people (although Damon knew him mating with Elena had practically ended that part of his life, unless she became a vampire herself).

The next task would be to enlist the help of Sheila Bennett. The New Orleans witches were unable to track both Katherine or Lucy, because Lucy had put a blocking spell on them. However, as Sheila was a blood relative, she could have alternative methods to overcome the cloaking spell. Damon wasn't certain this was possible, but he could only hope. He could have asked Bonnie, but as she was new to being a witch, the spell might be too much for her to handle. This kind of thing required an experienced witch to search them out.

To get the white oak stake from Katherine, there was a chance they would need the help of an experienced and powerful witch, one who was strong enough to take on Lucy. For that, Sheila fit the bill. He just hoped Sheila would still have enough firepower left in her to disable Katherine long enough for one of them to get the stake and return it to Klaus.

If Damon succeeded, he knew Klaus would reward them handsomely and they would be able to live out their lives with full Klaus Mikaelson protection, wealth and privileges, even if he left New Orleans, which was what he intended to do, if he got the other thin he wanted from his visit to Mystic Falls, because Damon also had another reason to see Sheila Bennett.

The Bennett witches were the keepers of the Petrova line knowledge. Back when he turned in eighteen sixty four, Emily Bennett had told him about the Bennett witches being drawn to the Petrova doppelgangers, hence their in-depth knowledge of them. He hoped Sheila would be able to she'd some light regarding whether he and Elena would be able to have a family. Not that he really wanted one himself, but he knew Elena did, and he wanted it for her. If there was even a slightest chance of them having children, he needed to know if they had to do anything special to conceive, or indeed, if they now needed to use birth control, something which had never even crossed his mind when they consummated.

This last piece of information was something he'd kept to himself. He suspected he knew the answer, but he wanted to make sure he was right. Therefore, he didn't tell Elena, instead, if he was right, he wanted to give her a nice surprise.

Finally the time came to set the plan into motion. Instead of Damon leaving Elena alone to find Stefan, he did a trick which surprised Elena, as it wasn't something he'd let on he could do. Damon closed his eyes and entered the mind of a nearby crow, which was the animal of choice for Damon. Once he'd located Stefan, he would watch his comings and goings until them moment arrived for them to set their plan into motion. The ideal time would be when Stefan went out to hunt as he was usually gone no longer than a couple of hours.

Elena now understood why Damon had needed to feed from a human. She could see what he was doing was draining him as she could sense him getting weaker by the minute. Elena just hoped it wouldn't be for too long. Fortunately for Damon, he was back with Elena after only half an hour.

"He's just left to munch bunnies." Damon told her. "He's been gone about fifteen minutes already. That gives us an hour at the most to get there and get you settled in without alerting him." he said as he picked up a blood-bag and began to drink the contents quickly.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Elena asked. "The whole of Mystic Falls will hear me walking in these shoes." she frowned, surprised by how little the sight of Damon drinking human blood affected her. If anything, she found it quite erotic in a strange sort of way.

"There are some woods on the other side of the house to where Stefan is hunting." Damon told her. "His hearing is less sensitive than mine so he shouldn't hear us park the car. Then I will carry you from the car and jump through Stefan's window." he said.

"He left his window open?" Elena asked.

Damon nodded. "I'll wait for him with the crow until he returns. Once he's inside, I'll listen to what happens between you, then I'll join the party." he smiled.

"And what should I say to him?" Elena asked.

"How about, long time no see." Damon replied. "If he thinks you're Katherine, then he'll tell us when he last saw her." he grinned. "After that, I will make my introduction."

Elena was worried about what could go wrong, namely if Stefan turned on her when he found out she was mated to Damon. Damon had used a lot of his power tracking Stefan, and would be using even more before they were reacquainted. She just hoped he'd be strong enough to keep her safe from her ex.

Just as Damon had explained, he drove them to a quiet parking spot in the woods, out near Wickery Bridge. They quietly got out of the car and Damon picked Elena up bridal style, which brought a smile to both of their faces considering what had happened over the past forty eight hours. Damon instructed Elena to close her eyes, which turned out to be for the best. She felt the wind rushing through her hair as Damon moved at vampire speed towards the house. Within half a minute, she felt her stomach lurch as Damon must have jumped up to Stefan's bedroom. Once there, he gently put her on the ground and placed his finger on his lips to make sure she didn't say anything.

Damon closed his eyes once more as a crow flew over and momentarily perched on the edge of the balcony, letting Elena know where he was before he flew off to find Stefan. Elena had expected him to be gone a while, however within a couple of minutes Damon was back. He gave Elena a quick peck on the lips before jumping off Stefan's balcony.

Moments later Stefan appeared in his room, only to be stunned to see Elena sat on his bed. Elena smiled a seductive smile, hoping she'd mastered her Katherine impersonation enough to fool Stefan, even if only for a minute.

"Katherine." Stefan frowned. "What are you doing here?" he asked, confirming he wasn't mated to Elena's doppelganger, which brought a sigh of relief to Elena.

"Long time no see." Elena replied.

Stefan narrowed his eyes. "It was just this morning." he said.

Right at that moment, the crow flew into the bedroom, startling Stefan. He turned to the balcony only to see Damon stood their with a grin on his face.

Stefan's face fell. "Damon." he said wearily.

"Hello brother." Damon replied.

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

**Quick mating explanation:**

**  
This is more prominent with vampires than other species (more is explained). If 2 vampires or a witch and a vampire, or in Delena's case a doppelganger and a vampire mate, if one dies, the other will take their own life. They cannot survive without their mate. If two witches mate, or a doppelganger and a witch mate, then the purpose is mainly for procreation. Yes they will marry but if one dies, it doesn't cause the other one to take their own life. The difference is that vampires blood-share with their mates which heightens their emotions. Witches do not have that attachment. I hope that makes sense.**

Stefan simply stood there, momentarily stunned by the presence of his brother. Eventually he managed to find something to say.

"What are you doing here?" he asked before turning to Elena. "I thought we agreed not to include Damon."

"Woah brother." Damon smirked. "Has all that Bambi blood fried your brain? Can you not detect a human heartbeat?" he said as Stefan frowned. "Wrong doppelganger." he smiled.

Stefan turned back to Elena. "Elena?" he asked as Elena nodded in reply. "Why are you here? With him?" he asked,

"Why have you been with Katherine?" Elena raised an eyebrow. "And why have you been lying to me for the past six months?"

"I did it to protect you." Stefan pleaded. "I was scared about what would happen to you. Especially if Damon found you."

"Why would you be scared of what Damon would do?" Elena looked at him confused.

"Damon hates Katherine, as you probably already know." Stefan explained. "I thought if he found you, he'd want to kill you. I wouldn't hurt you, but Damon is a dangerous killer, you need to stay away from him." he warned as he edged towards Elena.

Elena edged backwards to get away from Stefan and moved towards Damon, who instinctively seemed to gravitate towards Elena. He was in full protection mode. Stefan may be his brother, but if he even lay a finger on his mate, he wouldn't hesitate to kill him.

"I know exactly who and what Damon is." Elena folded her arms as soon as Damon was close enough to her for her to feel safe.

"Look, whatever he has told you, don't trust him. He's a liar and he's dangerous." Stefan begged.

"Well so far, the only Salvatore brother who I can say for certain is a liar is you." Elena snapped. "And Damon would never hurt me!" she added defiantly.

"Please don't tell me he's managed to charm you with his lies." Stefan rolled his eyes. "He's a manipulative killer who sleeps with a different woman every night."

"Actually, that's not true." Damon interrupted. "I can't anymore." he smiled.

Stefan coughed with surprise. "You're mated?" he laughed. "Who is the unfortunate girl who will have to endure you for the rest of her life?" he asked, when suddenly his face fell and he looked at Elena. "No. please say it isn't you." he shook his head sadly.

Elena nodded. "It's what the spirits of nature wanted." she told Stefan. "You know it is out of our control who we are mated with."

"And he told you you're definitely mated?" Stefan raised an eyebrow. "Elena, I know you are supernatural, but you know nothing about mating. He lied to you." he insisted.

"Elena is fully aware of every little thing I've ever done." Damon told Stefan, his face solemn. It took only a moment for Stefan to comprehend what Damon meant.

"You consummated?" Stefan cried. "But you didn't even call things off with me first." he said, his voice a little louder this time.

"So you accept we are mates?" Elena asked as Damon stepped closer to Stefan as he realized how angry his brother now was.

"I don't actually believe you are." Stefan frowned. "But I'll go with whatever you say until Damon is proven wrong."

"You don't seem upset about the consummation." Elena raised an eyebrow. "Unless you are mated yourself and you were faking your feelings for me."

"Elena, I love you more than you could ever imagine. And yes I am heartbroken. But you were fed lies so for now I will let it pass. I'm not mated, even though I wish I were to you." he sighed.

"He hasn't lied to me." Elena insisted.

"How do you know Elena?" Stefan narrowed his eyes. "He could have compelled you and told you to forget being compelled, and the only way to lift the compulsion would be him releasing you or you turning into a vampire as you'd remember it. You wouldn't be the first woman he'd compelled to have sex with him."

This was when Damon finally snapped. He flew across the room, his face in full vampire mode and pinned his brother up against the wall while Elena just watched on with interest in the knowledge Damon wouldn't really hurt Stefan.

"I have never needed to compel a woman to sleep with me, nor would I ever." Damon growled. "And how dare you suggest I would do something like that to Elena. I should kill you now, but Elena and I came here for a reason, part of it was to save your ass, although you don't deserve it." Damon let Stefan go, who raised his hand to his neck and rubbed it while Damon edged back towards Elena, although he was ready to pounce on Stefan should he move to touch Elena.

"So what are you and Katherine really up to?" Damon asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Stefan replied sounding suspicious.

"She killed and turned Caroline." Elena told Stefan, who's jaw dropped with shock.

"Katherine didn't tell me." Stefan said, sitting down at his desk and putting his head in his hands. "How is Caroline?" he asked, looking back up.

"Klaus took her." Damon told him. "Katherine left a message with Caroline telling us she had the white oak stake and that Klaus needed to watch his back as someone close to him would betray him." he said. "So I think you need to start talking otherwise this could get messy."

"And if I don't?" Stefan asked. "What are you going to do? Take me to Klaus?" he asked.

"I've got a better idea." came a familiar voice, namely Elena's, although it wasn't Elena who said the words. All three turned to where the words had come from and there stood Katherine herself, looking Elena up and down, clearly not impressed with her doppelganger's attempt to mimic her style. Katherine walked over to Elena and circled her in a cat-like manner, prompting Damon to close in on them while Katherine did a full inspection. "I'd never wear such cheap lipstick." she shook her head with disgust. "The hair could do with a bit of work. Although I do like the shoes." she smiled.

"What's this idea of yours?" Damon spat.

"We work together to get rid of Klaus." Katherine smiled.

"And why would I want to get rid of Klaus?" Damon frowned.

"Because Elijah can give you what you want." she smiled. "You can have your freedom from New Orleans with your mate, plus added protection. The rewards from Elijah will be far more substantial than Klaus would ever give you, and you'd have every surviving Mikaelson supporting you." she added.

"Rebekah and Kol are loyal to Klaus." Damon frowned.

"Are they?" Katherine asked. "And Marcel? Where is he right now?" she grinned.

"On a mission somewhere to eradicate a threat." Damon shrugged.

"And who do you think placed the idea into Klaus's head there was a threat?" Katherine raised an eyebrow.

"Rebekah." Damon replied, although he knew very little of why Marcel had gone. Klaus had been very secretive, just saying Rebekah had tipped him off and Marcel had offered to help.

"Who is Rebekah mated to?" Katherine sat down on Stefan's couch and studied her fingernails with boredom.

"Marcel." Damon sighed. "Come on Katherine, make your point." he said.

"They're all in league with Elijah." Katherine told them. "They're plotting to take Klaus down." she said.

"And you just happen to have the white oak stake." Damon rolled his eyes.

"No, but he does." Katherine smiled at Stefan.

"Are you two mated?" Elena finally plucked up the courage to ask Katherine, who simply burst into fits of laughter.

"With Stefan? Really?" she laughed. "No." she shook her head. "I'm mated with Elijah." she said.

Damon frowned. "How did you...you know, back in eighteen sixty four?" he asked.

"Elijah and I came up with a plan to distract Klaus and not alert him to us being mated." Katherine told them all. "We'd managed to evade him for centuries, but with an ever growing circle of trusted vampires, Klaus was closing in on us and we needed to disappear. So we devised a plan where I would seduce two high profile brothers who were still human. A similar situation to what happened with him and Elijah, although Klaus still isn't certain we are mated." she went on. "We chose you two." Katherine told them. "I was allowed to sleep with you to keep Elijah and I safe. Mates will do anything for survival of themselves and each other. It worked. Klaus thought I was dead and it threw him off the scent for a while."

"Why were you so afraid of him finding you?" Elena asked.

"We needed to protect our bloodline." Katherine told them. "You see when Elijah and I first met back in Bulgaria, we mated instantly. I became pregnant with his child." she said. "I had the baby out of wedlock, because Klaus took Elijah to England before the baby was born. At the time, Klaus didn't even know of my existence as he easily got jealous of people being important to his brother. Also mating was not something which was understood back then as it had happened to so few vampires. Even worse, it had never happened between a vampire and a doppelganger before. I was banished from Bulgaria by my parents and went in search of Elijah. I found him with Klaus and Finn. I told Elijah of our child and we plotted to escape. To do so I flirted with Klaus after Elijah gave me permission to do so. But we were thwarted by Finn and I managed to kill him. In revenge, his mate Sage killed me before removing her daylight ring to join Finn. She didn't know I had vampire blood in my system at the time."

"But I thought Finn turned you." Damon frowned.

"There are two sides to every story." Katherine told them. "Klaus has his version, and I have the truth. Elijah and I disappeared to keep an eye on our child and her future generations. Over time I was drawn to Mystic Falls because her family had moved there. This proved convenient for mine and Elijah's plan to keep Klaus away."

"Your descendants live in Mystic Falls?" Elena asked.

"Of course you do." Katherine smiled. "You are a Petrova doppelganger, a descendant of mine and Elijah's." she said. "So as much as Damon may hate me, you are in no danger from either myself or Elijah, you are our family." she smiled. "We will die to protect you. Although I'm slightly disappointed your mate was Damon not Stefan." she sighed. "We need you to be on our side. You are family and part of this. And the both of you are the future of our family." she said with a great deal of sincerity in her voice.

"Why don't I believe you?" Damon frowned.

"Look Damon, I know you have every reason to hate me. I used both you and Stefan, and I'm sorry for that." she said. "Well I'm not because I very much enjoyed our time together." she turned to Elena. "At least you ended up mated to someone who was already a Master in bed. I can only imagine how much experience, vampirism and becoming your mate must have improved him. I'm almost jealous." she smirked.

"Wait, they really are mates?" Stefan frowned as Katherine nodded. "How do you know?" he asked.

"There are general patterns of behavior you come to recognize over the centuries." Katherine shrugged. "Having a mate of your own, opens your eyes to these little behavior patterns. It comes in useful when you need to seduce someone and you need to know if they are mated or not. They are small things that aren't normally obvious, the body language speaks for itself." she said.

"Oh." Stefan said, looking crestfallen.

"Don't worry." Elena tried to reassure Stefan. "Your own mate is out there somewhere, and your feelings for me would disappear instantly when that happens." she said, however she knew she'd said the wrong thing the moment the words left her mouth.

"Is that what has happened to you?" Stefan asked. "You don't feel anything for me?"

Elena thought for a moment. "Affection." she replied thoughtfully. "But not what I felt when I left to go to New Orleans." she said sadly. "As far as I was concerned, I was in love. But now everything is different."

"They have no control over it." Katherine told Stefan. "I know it hurts, but there isn't anything you can do to change that." she added sympathetically.

"Elijah allowed you to seduce other men." Stefan frowned.

"Only for our survival." Katherine explained. "They are the only acceptable circumstances. Other than that it is physically painful to allow your mate to cheat. I know you love her, but you have to let her go. You always knew this was a possibility Stefan. You even told me yourself you were worried about whether she would find her mate in New Orleans when she was with so many supernatural creatures."

"I just didn't expect it to be my brother." Stefan sighed.

"It makes perfect sense." Katherine shrugged. "I was drawn to Mystic Falls because mine and Elijah's only family were there." she explained. "That was when we hatched the plan for me to seduce you both as you were high profile enough for word to get to Klaus about what happened and my untimely death."

"Glad to be of service." Damon said sarcastically.

"You'll be glad I'm here." Katherine smiled. "We need to get rid of Klaus." she said. "He is destroying New Orleans and is planning to turn more hybrids now he can access more doppelganger blood." she said sadly.

"What do you mean?" Elena asked.

"Why do you think there are only a sparse number of his sired minions?" Katherine asked, as the others shook their heads. "Because he requires doppelganger blood to turn them." she told them. "He took some of mine, and some from the last doppelganger two hundred years ago. In fact that was what killed her. Now he'll take from you." she said to Elena. "Only this time, modern medicine will keep you alive long enough to turn all of the werewolves in America and Canada. He'll probably even turn all of the South American population too. And we can't let him do that." she said.

"Why?" Damon asked.

"He could destroy all vampires with the blink of an eye." Katherine told them. "He'd be far too powerful and dangerous if he were allowed to. So we have three options, kill Klaus. Kill Elena, or turn Elena. But if Elena turns, he will be out for vengeance, and just like me, you will spend eternity on the run." she said sadly.

Those words seemed to have the desired affect on Damon and Elena. Elena's life was in serious danger, not from Katherine, but from Klaus.

"So why did you turn Caroline?" Elena asked.

"Because I needed to get a message to Klaus and for it to make sure you involved yourself." Katherine told them.

"So why would Klaus let me go like that?" Elena asked.

"Because he has Caroline." Katherine smirked. "I had spies in the club the other night, I saw the way he was fawning over your friend. She was the perfect bait. I knew he'd want to personally take charge of her transition."

"And where is Marcel?" Damon asked.

"He's with Elijah." Katherine told them. "We need as many people from Klaus's inner circle to be ready to betray him."

"And what was your role in this?" Elena asked Stefan.

"Initially it was to keep an eye on you. To make sure Klaus didn't find you without protection." he admitted. "But things got complicated and I fell in love with you." he said sadly.

"So you let her go to New Orleans unprotected." Damon frowned.

"Sheila assured me Nandi would keep her safe from Klaus." Stefan replied. "I didn't know you were there." he said to Damon.

"So why did she send Elena to the club where Klaus was spending the night?" Damon frowned.

"Nandi thought he was elsewhere." Elena told them.

"I guess that explains it." Damon sighed. "So what's the plan oh evil one?" he asked Katherine. "What happens if we somehow destroy Klaus?"

"So you are on our side?" Katherine asked as Damon and Elena turned to each other and nodded.

"I want to speak to Marcel first. Find out what he is doing, then if I'm happy, yes. But that doesn't answer my question. What does Elijah want to do about New Orleans?" Damon asked.

"I guess that is up to those who run things in New Orleans." Katherine shrugged. "I guess Marcel could take over. Elijah would do it if he had to. I'm sure Rebekah would, but Kol has absolutely no interest in it. He wants to make babies with Davina." she shook her head.

"So everyone who is against Klaus has something to gain." Damon folded his arms.

"I don't." Stefan said.

"But you are out for revenge for him killing Lexi." Damon raised an eyebrow. "And you want to prevent him using Elena as a human blood-bag."

"Don't you?" Stefan asked.

"Of course I want to protect her." Damon replied, raising his voice slightly. "I just want to make sure this isn't some cock and bull story, Katherine made up so she could get her grimy little hands on New Orleans. Remember, I have a business to run, and people to keep safe and happy." he added.

"I personally don't care who runs that city." Katherine sighed. "If Elijah wants it, I will support him, but I'd prefer somewhere a little less susceptible to hurricanes, like Europe." she shrugged. "But I also would like to see my family line flourish, so I guess I'd need to stay close enough to see the next generation of Petrova's, should there actually be any more." she added.

"Over my dead body." Damon growled.

"Don't worry. Elijah and I only watch from afar." Katherine smiled. "That's unless you want our help."

"Are you sure we can have children?" Elena asked.

Katherine nodded. "You wouldn't be here if the Petrova doppelganger couldn't conceive with a vampire." she said.

"How?" Elena asked.

Katherine laughed. "Did your mother never have the chat about the birds and the bees?" she asked.

"I don't mean that." Elena frowned. "Do we have to do anything different to either prevent pregnancy, or to conceive?" she asked.

"Elijah and I were only together a few times before I fell pregnant, so I don't know. We didn't even know it was possible at the time." Katherine said absentmindedly. "My advice would be to speak to Sheila Bennett. She can talk to the spirits as they are experts and can advise you what to do."

"Do you mind if Damon and I talk this over by ourselves?" Elena asked. "There's a lot to take in." she said.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind some time alone." Stefan said sadly.

"I'll get your things from the car and talk to Marcel." Damon suggested to Elena. "Then we can get you out of those clothes and into the shower to get rid of that hideous make-up which hides your beautiful face." he smiled. "Vampires can't hear through the distortion of running water, our conversation will be completely private." he smirked.

"Just don't scream when he makes you come." Katherine piped up. "I think Stefan is a little too raw to hear that." she smirked.

Stefan winced. "Could you all leave?" he asked.

"I'll be waiting in the parlor." Katherine smiled.

"I'll show you to my room before I get your things." Damon said as he led Elena to his room.

Elena wasn't surprised to find a room similar to the one in the club, except it was grander and the fireplace was much bigger. The bathroom was nicer and the bed was slightly larger than the one in New Orleans. Damon jumped out of one of the large windows, leaving to speak to Marcel and bring Elena's things to her. He was only gone five minutes before he returned with her bags. He ushered her into the bathroom as he turned on the shower and began to undress. Elena followed suit and they got into the overlarge shower to discuss what Marcel had told Damon.

"It's all true." Damon sighed. "Rebekah found Klaus's plans in his office. She copied them and took them to Marcel. Rebekah had always known where Elijah was, but Klaus never knew. She contacted him so they could start to formulate a plan." he told her. "They've been slowly putting everything together for the last six months. They knew Stefan wouldn't trigger Bonnie's magic and that Sheila would send her to New Orleans as that is the usual procedure. They just hoped you would be going with them. Once confirmed, Katherine set about getting Klaus's attention. You know the rest." he sighed.

"But the witches hate Marcel." Elena frowned. "He wants to stop them practicing magic in the Quarter." she said.

"This was a recent thing." Damon told her, as he began to gently remove the make-up from Elena's face. "He'd suggested it to Klaus as he didn't want the witches to find out what he was up to. He needed to act as though he needed Klaus's support. He's quite happy to let them continue as they are." he said, standing back and smiling. "That's better. I can see your face." he whispered. "Now you look beautiful." he added as he leaned in to kiss her.

"What if Stefan hears?" Elena asked.

"He won't." Damon replied seductively. "But Katherine might, anyway, who cares." he grinned.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

**Thank you all for your kind reviews. They are always appreciated.**

**Warning for explicit sexual content.**

"Turn around." Damon commanded, to which Elena did as she was told.

Damon's fingers ghosted over Elena's skin, making their way south until his hands were cupping and massaging her naked breasts from behind. He pinched her delicate nipples, causing them to pebble under his expert touch. Elena's breathing grew labored as she nervously took in small amounts of air and released it in quick gasps. Her heart was racing from his touch, from the knowledge of what they would be doing soon.

Elena stood with her back up against Damon's chest. Damon's hand reached down as he laced Elena's fingers through his and moved his hand to touch her nub. In the meantime, he nibbled her ear, as if he were going to lower his head to feed, yet they both knew he couldn't without her permission. For the time being this was as close as it would get until they knew they could without Elena getting pregnant, as Damon had told Elena he suspected blood-sharing during sex, might be what is required for Elena to become pregnant.

Suddenly Elena found herself stood up, her back against the glass front of the shower. Damon had vamp-sped them into position.

"Are you going to make love to me or are you going to fuck me?" Elena asked, almost stunned by the words which came out of her mouth. She rarely swore, and she have never talked dirty to anyone before. However Damon was different, she held no reservations with him. He was hers and she was his, and there was a lot of pleasure to be found with each other, that held no shame for her due to the strength of their connection. For some reason, asking him to fuck her, seemed like the most natural thing in the world. The thought alone sent heat straight to her core.

"Why Miss Gilbert." Damon smirked. "I'd have never put you down for the type of girl to tell me how much you want me to fuck you." he whispered into her ear, his words only adding to the throbbing sensation between her thighs.

"Not normally." Elena admitted as Damon let go of her wrists. "Maybe it's just you who does it to me." she whispered

"I like it." Damon laughed. "Although I don't think you're quite ready for handcuffs just yet."

Elena laughed. "Yeah, I think I'll pass on that one for now." she agreed.

"Your loss." Damon shrugged, with a smile on his face. "I can be patient."

"Kiss me on the neck as if you were going to bite me." Elena whispered. "Show me what you truly are." she said, wishing he really would bite her and she could drink his blood. The thought of drinking his blood made her mouth water.

Damon didn't need telling twice as he pressed his lips against the wet skin of her neck. Elena parted her lips and moaned at the sensation. All she cared about was the sensation of Damon's mouth, feeling his tongue and lips against her neck as he scraped his fangs, not enough to penetrate the skin, but to at least remind her of his vampiric nature. Damon wrapped one arm around Elena's waist and pulled her closer to him, their bodies pressed up against one another. Not close enough though for Elena's liking as pushed her hips up against Damon's, feeling his erection poking into her stomach, sending heat pooling to her core.

Elena turned around and their lips met. The kiss quickly became hungry and desperate as their tongues investigated each others mouths. Elena began to feel, for the first time in her life, sexy and confident. She pulled away slightly to allow herself to breathe, before tugging on Damon's bottom lip with her teeth, causing him to moan with pleasure, the sound sending heat to her core.

"On your knees!" Damon commanded as Elena did as she was told.

Damon's shaft was directly in front of her face, pre-cum seeping from the tip. Finally she was going to do what she'd been dying to do since she thought about it in the motel room. Elena took hold of his length and swirled her tongue around the tip, tasting the saltiness of his pre-cum, causing Damon to hiss slightly. Elena lifted her eyes to his and wrapped her lips fully around his member. She wrapped her hands around his thickness and began to pump with her hands, forming a rhythm with her mouth to create the greatest amount of sensation possible.

The moans of pleasure escaping his lips were delicious enough to dampen her panties as she desperately wanted to give him more. Elena used her tongue to lick his magnificent length before relaxing her gag reflex to take him further into her mouth.

"Fuck...Elena." Damon groaned as he ran his fingers through Elena's hair and began to move his hips, keeping in rhythm with Elena's own tempo, however after only a couple of minutes he pulled himself out of her mouth. "We need to stop." he panted. "Or the party will be over before it's started." he winked as Elena pouted. "Stand up." Damon instructed as Elena did as she was told.

Damon nudged Elena's legs apart, before making his way down her body, strategically placing kisses where he knew, from his vast years of experience with other women, her erogenous zones would be. Eventually he placed his lips on the skin, just below her naval. One of Damon's hands traveled to Elena's breast while the other stroked the inside of her thighs until it met her core. His fingers gently traced a line along her slit as Elena hitched her breath in anticipation, her heart felt like it was beating so hard, it would erupt from her chest.

Damon smiled as his eyes met hers. "Are you wet for me Elena?" he asked.

Elena's reply came in the form of a moan as he pressed his fingers against the dull ache growing inside of her. Damon removed his fingers and sucked her juices from them, closing his eyes as if he'd just tasted a piece of heaven.

"Delicious." he smiled, opening his eyes once more. His lips kissed the top of her thighs before blowing against her clitoris. "Is this where you want my mouth?" he whispered, as Elena nodded profusely in reply. Words having completely escaped her. "Good." he smirked. "I was hoping you'd say that."

Damon's tongue traced the line along the slit he'd previously made with his fingers, causing Elena to gasp. He placed his hands firmly on her hips, steadying her as if her legs were likely to fail her if she was going to come as hard as she suspected she might. Damon's eyes locked together with Elena's as he grinned wickedly. "God Elena, you taste good." he said in a deep husky tone.

Damon swirled his tongue around Elena's swollen nub, causing her to throw her head back against the glass, unable to comprehend the deep sense of pleasure she was experiencing for the first time in her life. "Oh my god...Damon..." Elena panted.

"Elena, look at me." Damon commanded as Elena looked back down at him.

Their eyes locked onto one another as he parted her folds and licked her slit slowly and methodically. Elena watched him as he his tongue explored the most intimate and sensitive parts of her body. Heat flooded her core, which was getting wetter with every stroke of Damon's tongue. Elena ran her fingers through Damon's damp hair, which was now an inky black from the shower, her intention to run her hands through his hair to steady herself.

Damon placed his thumb on Elena's nub and began to massage the swollen bundle of nerves, meanwhile he slipped his tongue inside her entrance, and as a man of his word, he literally began to fuck her with it. Instinct took over as Elena grabbed Damon's hair with both hands, pulling him closer to her core as she bucked her hips while she tried to ride his tongue. By the time he placed two fingers inside her, Elena was almost at a tipping point.

"Please Damon." Elena begged as Damon began to scissor his fingers inside her, stretching her walls.

"Please Damon what?" he smirked.

"I need to come." Elena pleaded. "I'll do anything." she promised.

"Anything?" Damon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Anything." Elena told him.

Damon thought about it for a moment. "Okay then. I want you to beg me to make you come." he simply said.

"Is that all, and you promise?" Elena asked.

"I promise." Damon said softly. "If you beg, I'll make you come so fucking hard you'll be screaming my name loud enough for all of Mystic Falls to hear it." he growled.

"Please Damon." Elena pleaded. "I want you to make me come so hard, all of Mystic Falls will be able to hear me scream your name. Please let me come." she begged.

Without a word Damon inserted a third finger into Elena's core, stretching her inner walls, before beginning to pump harder. His mouth latched onto her nub as he began to suck on the swollen bundle of nerves. Occasionally pulling away to lick and suck her folds, before returning to her clit.

Elena thought she was going to die from pleasure, he'd taken her past the point of no return. Her body was on fire as her insides started to spasm, releasing juices which Damon occasionally lapped up. He wrapped his arm around her back, allowing her to ride his hand and tongue, all the while their eyes staying locked together. Elena began to moan as she knew she was on the brink of an orgasm.

Damon momentarily pulled his mouth away from her nub, causing Elena to moan at the loss. "When you come, I'm going to turn you around and fuck you from behind." he told her. "I want to feel you come." he said.

"Yes Damon." Elena begged, practically in tears as he kept her on the brink of her release.

"Come for me Elena." Damon whispered seductively. "I want you to come for me so hard you scream my name, and you won't stop coming until I'm fucking you, I want your juices all over me. Understand?" he commanded as his hand began to pump inside her furiously while his mouth latched onto her nub and sucked with the right amount of pressure to send Elena over the edge.

"Aargh..." Elena screamed as she felt the white hot violent spasms of her orgasm take over her body. "Oh my god...Damon." she cried out as he suddenly removed his mouth and fingers, spun her around, where she placed her hands up against the glass as Damon pulled her hips slightly back into place and thrust his rock hard member deep inside her still contracting core. Elena screamed as a mixture of pleasure and pain took over her body while her walls stretched to acclimatize to Damon's girth, however he didn't give her body much of a chance as he pulled out almost fully and drove back into her once more. He bent over and his fingers found her nub as he continued to massage it while Elena's orgasm continued in waves of heated spasms, her back arched and she went rigid until she started to come down from her high.

"Fuck Elena..." Damon growled seductively. "You're so tight and wet." he moaned as he began to thrust in and out of her. This time he started off gently as he wrapped one arm around Elena's waist to help support her trembling legs, while the other massaged one of her breasts, pinching her nipple, adding a little pain mixed with the pleasure of his length deep inside her.

Elena had never been taken from behind before and she'd never been with a man who was as large and as skilled as Damon was. The penetration was deep, yet she wanted more. Elena found herself pushing her hips back to meet his, their damp flesh slapping together on impact, which was the only noise audible apart from their moans and panting.

Damon bent down and kissed Elena's shoulder. "We were made for each other." he whispered in her ear. "It's practically supernatural."

"I know." Elena admitted breathlessly, as she felt the signs of another orgasm building up. "Damon, I think I'm going to come." Elena whispered breathlessly, as Damon released her leg and wrapped it back around his waist once more.

"I know, me too." he replied as he slid his hand in between them and found Elena's swollen nub, which he gently began to massage.

The fire which had been building up in Elena's body erupted once again, throwing her over the cliff as the white hot spasms rocked through her core. "Oh my god...Damon..." she cried out as her contractions causing her body to tremble and her back to arch once more before going rigid. Elena started to become lightheaded from the pleasure Damon was giving her. She wanted to scream, but no sound would come out of her mouth. Instead she formed a silent O with her lips. Damon was driving her to exhaustion and she wasn't sure whether she'd be able to stand for much longer.

"Aargh...Fuck...Elena." he cried out as he spilled his seed inside her, Elena could feel his body trembling before collapsing onto Elena's back, where he nuzzled into the crook of Elena's neck.

An hour later they stood outside Bonnie's Grams house. Elena had called Sheila to ask if she and Damon could pay her a visit. Sheila had reluctantly agreed as she didn't trust Damon, but having Elena vouch for him seemed to pacify her. Sheila answered the door and raised an eyebrow.

"Hello Miss Sheila." Elena said. "We need to talk to you about the Petrova doppelganger."

Sheila sighed. "Does he have anything to do with this, or can he wait outside?" she asked.

"I have a lot to do with it." Damon told her.

"Hmm, then I guess you better come in, both of you." Sheila said cautiously, leading them to the sitting room, where she had tea waiting for them. "But I will put a spell on this house when you've gone so no vampire can ever set foot in here again." she warned.

"That might not be a good idea." Damon shook his head. "You might not have a choice with at least one vampire." he smirked.

"Who?" Sheila asked.

"Ask Bonnie." Elena replied as she glared at Damon. From her perspective, this was up to Bonnie to tell her Grams about Enzo, not Damon.

Sheila rolled her eyes. "I'm guessing she's mated with a vampire." she sighed. "I just hope he's a decent one." she said.

"What happened to your mate?" Damon asked.

"He's a witch." Sheila told them, much to Elena's surprise. She'd never met Grams husband before. "When witches mate with witches, they only feel the urge to procreate. And I think I'm a little old for that now, don't you?" she raised an eyebrow. "After that, we no longer need one another and are free to be with someone else. But with vampires in the mix, well the urge is much stronger due to their heightened emotions. It also affects the witch, or doppelganger the same when they are mated with a vampire, as once they've procreated, they feel the urge to stay with their mate forever." she explained. "And I'm guessing this is part of the reason you are here." she said.

Elena nodded. "Damon and I are mates." she told Sheila.

"I suspected that you would end up with one of the Salvatore's." Sheila nodded. "As soon as I realized you were a doppelganger, I had a feeling the local vampires would be part of your future. But I thought it would be Stefan, not Damon. That was until you started dating Stefan and it was quite clear you weren't mates."

"Did you know I was in New Orleans?" Damon asked.

Sheila nodded. "I suspected you would be mates and I knew Nandi would send Elena to the club as that is the usual procedure, as you know." she turned to Damon. "I really didn't want it to be you, but considering you were turned in Mystic Falls, which was where the Petrova line was residing at the time, it made sense it would be one of you."

"What does it all mean?" Elena asked. "Can we have a family?"

"Of course." Sheila smiled. "Something has to calm this rascal down." she slipped Damon an pointed stare. "I suspect his mate was needed to be compassionate and good to balance him out and appease the spirits of nature." she shrugged. "That is often how it works. When the spirits are tired of the behavior of a vampire, they ensure their mate is the lightness to their darkness, and their mate can withstand turning without losing that light." she told them.

"And you are sure I will want to turn once I've had children?" Elena frowned.

Sheila nodded. "There are few doppelgangers in the world, not just the ones who look like you, but others who have been created by magic." she explained. "The line always needs to continue for the purposes of whatever magic spell created them, therefore they need to procreate. However sometimes their visual imprint needs to remain, which is when a doppelganger is mated with a vampire. Usually it is with a witch." she said. "Once enough children have been born, you will suddenly feel an incredible urge to turn. It is even more powerful than the urge to consummate."

"Shit!" Damon frowned as Elena looked at him in horror for swearing in front of Sheila, except the old witch simply laughed.

"How will we know we've had enough children?" Elena asked.

"How many do you need to continue the Petrova bloodline?" Sheila asked.

"Just one." Damon looked at Sheila who nodded. "And how will we know when to procreate?" he asked, trying to be polite this time.

"You will start to get urges to blood share." Sheila told them. "Initially it will be a passing fancy, but every time you are together, the urge will get stronger and stronger until neither of you can resist it." she explained further. "Elena, once you consummated, your body began to change. You will no longer have periods at you will always be fertile, ready for the moment you lose the ability to resist blood-sharing. It will not be a conscious choice, and it will happen to you both at the same time. Once pregnant, the urge to turn will start. I will be surprised if you last a year before you become a vampire after having a child." she smiled. "I have known the child to be born to a vampire as she couldn't resist the urge to turn even when pregnant."

"What if the child is unhealthy?" Elena asked.

"That's why there is blood-sharing when you procreate. It gives the child protection against illnesses until they have also forwarded the line. In theory, your child will always be a girl." Sheila told them. "The Petrova line can only be carried by the eldest daughter, and every doppelganger has a purpose." she smiled.

"It take it Katherine's purpose was to mate with an Original." Damon frowned.

 

Sheila nodded. "The two before her, were to mate with witches." she said. "Before the Mikaelsons became vampires, they knew one of them, Tatia, and both Klaus and Elijah fell in love with her, however she died after they turned, although nobody is quite sure of the circumstances. What is known was her blood was used to create the immortality spell, the basis for vampires." she said. "The one after Katherine appears to have been to assist Klaus with his hybrid army, although that didn't last long. She had just had their child and hadn't turned. He drained her dry before she could become a vampire and her mate took his own life, leaving the child to be adopted. So whatever your reason is child, I would suggest it is in some way related to the Original family." she smiled.

"What do you know Sheila?" Damon asked.

"I know she is here for a purpose which is related to the Original family. If your first and only child is a son, then the Petrova line is no longer required by the spirits of nature to do whatever needs to be done." Sheila told them. "But I think you already know as you have spoken with your brother and Katherine. Only a human can use the white oak stake. It would even kill and Original should they use it on a sibling." she said.

"So Elena is here to kill an Original?" Damon frowned.

"It is entirely possible, although which one it is, I cannot be certain. But a Petrova doppelganger always appears for a reason." Sheila shrugged. "One that reason is fulfilled, hopefully you will have a son and the Petrova line will no longer be supernatural, making you the last doppelganger." she added. "Also, if you are the last doppelganger, I cannot say for certain that you will survive to forward your line."

"So we could both die?" Damon stated, clearly in shock at this piece of information.

"All I'm saying child is to be careful." Sheila addressed Elena. "I don't care about this one." she nodded her head in the direction of Damon. "But I've known you since you were a little girl, and I don't want anything to happen to you."

"What about Bonnie? Can't she be of some help?" Damon asked.

"Bonnie is a new witch." Sheila told him. "In all likelihood a very powerful one, and it is indeed very strange she is mated with a vampire, but it means she can channel his magic to increase her own if she needs to." she frowned. "Admittedly, this kind of mating has never happened to a Bennett witch before, which means it is for a reason. If it is to help you, I doubt Nandi would want to participate in killing an Original, so she will not teach her anything useful. But this might help." she walked over to a bookshelf and pulled out an old looking leather-bound book. "It is Emily Bennett's grimoire. She and Jonathan Gilbert had been looking into methods of killing Originals. It may be of some help to her, but don't let Nandi know about it. Bonnie can channel her mate's power, as long as they have consummated." she sighed.

"Bonnie wanted to wait until she told Jeremy." Elena frowned.

"She may not have a choice in the matter." Sheila shook her head. "You clearly all have a destiny together and it needs to be fulfilled." she handed the grimoire to Elena. "You can only tell Bonnie and her mate about this, nobody else. Not even Caroline." she warned them.

"Caroline has been turned into a vampire." Elena said sadly. "Klaus has her, making sure she is suitable for the daylight ring Bonnie made."

Sheila nodded thoughtfully. "That will keep Klaus occupied. As far as he is concerned, while ever he has Caroline, you will be loyal to him. Do you think he will hurt her?" she asked.

"He had a soft spot for her before she turned." Damon said as a look of horror crept up on Elena's face.

"What if Caroline and Klaus are mated?" Elena asked. "If anything happens to him, she'll remove her daylight ring."

"Then we need to get our number one spy." Damon smiled.

"Who?" Elena asked.

"Rebekah." Damon grinned before turning to Sheila. "Thank you Ms Bennett, you've been incredibly helpful." he held his hand out so he could shake hers.

Sheila looked at it in disgust, but shook it reluctantly. "After you leave, I'll put a blocking spell on the house so you can only come in every time I ask you." she said as Damon and Elena walked out of the door.

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

**Just to explain, I'm tweaking the Silas tale a lot.**

Damon and Elena returned to the boarding house to speak to Stefan. They needed a plan to ensure Klaus couldn't turn Elena into a human blood-bag. It was clear Elena was around for a specific purpose, but whether or not it was to kill Klaus, remained a mystery. When they got back, they found Stefan and Katherine in the library. The fire was roaring, despite the July heat, and Stefan was simply staring into the flames with a glass of amber liquid in his hands. Katherine, on the other hand was reading a book.

"What are you reading Kitty-Kat?" Damon asked Katherine as he poured himself and Elena a drink.

"Just the history of the Petrova doppelganger." Katherine replied nonchalantly, twirling her hair around her fingers.

"Sheila Bennett gave us some pretty insightful information regarding that part." Elena told her.

"Let me guess, something about the creation of the Original family, namely Tatia." Katherine started. "Then me, who I think got the best part of the deal as I bagged an Original as a mate. The next one was to help create hybrids and you are there to destroy one." she smirked. "Did she tell you about the very first one?" she asked and Elena shook her head.

"It's a sad tale of deception." Katherine told them as Elena, Damon and Stefan were listening intently to what Katherine had to say. "The very first one to look like us was called Amara. She was part of a tribe of witches called the Travelers. The most powerful witches in the coven were called Silas and Qetsiyah, who were to be married. As part of her wedding gift to Silas, Qetsiyah created the first immortality spell, so they could take it together. However Silas gave the gift to his secret lover, Qetsiyah's handmaiden, Amara, who had recently had a child with him. When Qetsiyah found out she was livid. Therefore she killed Amara before she could take the immortality spell. After that, she cast a spell to ensure all supernatural creatures would only find companionship with their true supernatural mates. Not being prepared to kill a child, she also decided to ensure Amara's Petrova line would end by cursing it to have recurring doppelgangers until they all died out, and being supernatural, the only way for a doppelganger to survive was to mate with another supernatural being. She banished the Petrova family from the being part of a coven, thus expecting the line to soon die out quickly as lone witches were rare. The next doppelganger, Tatia found a witch mate, but her blood created the Original family, forever tying our fate to those of the immortal as the vampire species rapidly multiplied. Something Qetsiyah never envisaged. But now her plan may well have come to fruition."

"So what is the point of this story?" Damon asked.

"To make sure you don't think this is all about you, and not to be upset by what needs to happen." Katherine warned Elena.

"Why, what are you suggesting?" Elena asked.

"Klaus has wronged all of us in one way or another. He has daggered Rebekah goodness knows how many times. He tried to keep her away from her mate, Marcel, which is as bad as it can get. He killed Stefan's best friend Lexi. He shunned both Elijah and I for centuries because he was mated to me and not him. And we have reason to believe he wants your blood for more hybrids. We can deal with the rest, but if his plan to have more hybrids is true, then we have two options, kill him or kill you. You might be our flesh and blood, but the hybrids are a scourge on this earth which need to be wiped out. We will put our safety above yours." she said.

"So why haven't you killed me yet?" Elena raised an eyebrow.

"Because we would prefer you to kill Klaus, but if you do, then it is almost certain you will either die or turn." Katherine told her. "Are you willing to risk yours and Damon's lives?" she asked.

Elena looked at Damon, she didn't care about her own life, but she knew Damon would die if she did, and that was too hard for her to bear, so she simply shook her head.

"Good, glad to know you are aware of the risk." Katherine smiled.

"I take it you have a plan to kill Klaus?" Damon frowned.

"Oh yes." Katherine smirked.

"I'm all ears." Damon poured another drink for everyone.

"Elena is going to need to go into transition." Katherine told them. "She can still wield the white oak stake because she will still be human, but she will also have heightened senses and powers, this is especially prominent in a Petrova doppelganger. We have the same strength as a new vampire during transition." she told them.

"Absolutely not!" Damon exclaimed.

"If not, Klaus will turn her into a human blood bag to create his sired hybrid minion army and destroy vampires." Katherine stood up. "It is the only way." she insisted.

"I'm not letting Elena forfeit her rights to have a child." Damon stated, his voice getting a little louder.

"So how else do you expect to give Elena the unexpected strength against Klaus she needs to stop him from using her as a blood bag?" Katherine folded her arms and raised and eyebrow.

"How certain are you that what Rebekah said was true?" Elena asked, trying to see if there was another way.

"She found the plans herself. It was an old diary entry of Klaus's, claiming he would use the next doppelganger to create more hybrids, but not drain her dry." Katherine told them.

"So you got it from from a nearly two hundred year old diary?" Damon laughed. "Don't you think his plans might have changed a little since then? He's known about Elena for a while, and yet he's done nothing. Do you really think he wouldn't have kept an eye on the descendants of the last Petrova doppelganger?" he asked.

"Maybe he wants her to procreate to ensure the line continues." Katherine suggested. "As soon as she found her mate, he could make his plans."

Damon knew Katherine was possibly right. Klaus couldn't do a great deal until Elena had met her mate, only after he child and confirmation of the Petrova line continuing, could he turn Elena into his personal hybrid creator.

"I'll do it!" Elena announced.

"No, no, no, no, no." Damon shook his head. "And if you are not sure of my opinion in the matter, the answer is a categorical no!" he folded his arms. "I'm not letting you turn like that. I want it to be on our terms."

"Damon, I don't think we have much choice." Elena sighed.

"We do." Damon argued back. "We run, just like you and Elijah for the last five hundred years." he said.

"And force us all to do the same for eternity?" Katherine asked. "Don't you think that's a little selfish?"

"You are asking us to give up our chance to have a family." Damon's eyes flashed angrily at Katherine.

"It's not all that it's cracked up to be." Katherine turned to Elena. "Shitty diapers, puking, screaming. We're doing you a favor."

"It is taking away her choice Katherine." Stefan said quietly. "It is hers and Damon's decision to make. Whether I like it or not, they are mates and I can't do anything about that. She was always going for find her mate before Klaus got to her." he turned to Elena. "If you decide to kill Klaus, you will need to forsake the Petrova line and your chance to have children."

"Can't a witch give Elena some superpowers for a day?" Damon asked.

"If it were that simple, we'd have done it already." Katherine rolled her eyes.

"Use another human." Damon suggested.

Katherine shook her head. "According to the witch spirits only another Original or a human Petrova doppelganger can kill an Original. I killed Finn, when I was a human. According to the witch spirits, doppelganger blood created the Original's, therefore, doppelganger blood has to kill them."

"Convenient." Damon muttered.

"So what happens to the stake once it kills an Original?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, how were the who family ever likely to be wiped out if there was only one stake?" Damon asked.

"It burns up with the body. The original stake was burned when Finn died, but another turned up when Esther's spirit turned Damon's friend Alaric into an Original. After a fight, he was also killed." Katherine told them. "Although we don't know how exactly Esther got hold of your blood." she frowned at Elena. "Have you ever given anyone any of your blood?" she asked.

"Only at a blood drive at college about a year ago." Elena replied as Katherine and Damon looked at each other.

"So Esther was either present at the blood drive, or she managed to find your blood." Katherine nodded. "Well Esther had another stake which were created from a sapling from the great white oak. She made it almost invincible, but if a Petrova doppelganger wields it, the stake will destroy itself." she told them. "In fact, the only way the stake can be destroyed, if Davina is to be believed, is by a Petrova doppelganger wielding it and killing an Original vampire."

"How do you know?" Elena asked.

"Davina contacted the spirits who are currently angry with Esther for her meddling." Katherine replied.

Damon frowned, he was beginning to doubt the true motives of the Mikaelson family. The story which Katherine originally told them sounded plausible, but the more he heard, the more he suspected his and Elena's future was going to be sacrificed to save the asses of Kol, Elijah and Rebekah at the expense of Klaus. However, he decided to keep this part to himself and play along until the convenient moment came to double cross Katherine, as long as Elena was on board with the plan.

"And where is Mikael in all of this?" Damon raised an eyebrow.

This caught Katherine off guard. She clearly wasn't aware of how much Damon knew about Mikael. In fact, Damon suspected Katherine didn't know how close Damon was to Klaus. He didn't trust the Original hybrid, and yes his minions were a pest. Klaus had previously told him he wanted more, but at the same time had complained he'd wished he'd never created them in the first place as they were an ungrateful bunch and constantly complained about everything. He preferred working with people who wanted to work for him, like Damon.

Damon didn't just own The Underground. He was also part of Klaus's spy network. He kept his eye on various enemies over the last hundred years or so. Primarily Klaus's father, or step-father, Mikael. When Esther had turned Alaric into a vampire, it had all been because of Mikael, hence Damon was robbed of his favorite drinking buddy, who also happened to be human. Damon had already known that an Original had to kill another Original, but the stake didn't burn up. If the stake was destroyed, after a doppelganger using it, then not only the rest of the Mikaelson family were free of Klaus, but Mikael would have his revenge, and Damon wasn't prepared to let that happen. He also suspected Mikael would want Damon and any of Klaus's associates dead, which would include Enzo and in turn Bonnie as her bond was a stronger one than two witches mating because of Enzo being a vampire.

Damon was brought back from his train of thought when he heard a cough from Katherine.

"Weren't listening?" Katherine asked.

"I'm getting sick and tired of your dulcet tones Kitty-kat, but please, repeat what you said." he replied through gritted teeth.

"Mikael has promised to leave all of us alone. He only wants Klaus dead. He doesn't blame anyone else as he can't be sure whether people are loyal, sired or compelled." Katherine told him. "Plus he wouldn't have to worry about being killed himself." she smiled.

"How does it work with him and Esther?" Damon asked.

"She wasn't actually a witch when they married, although she came from a family of witches." Katherine told him.

"So they aren't mates?" Damon frowned.

Katherine shook her head. "No, but they have the same goal, to destroy Klaus and prevent him from creating his hybrid army." she said.

"You mean destroying the stake and the Petrova bloodline, just in case any more stakes turn up." Damon raised and eyebrow, as Elena looked at his suspiciously, suddenly grasping his point. But like Damon, she remained silent.

"Of course it would be a consequence of killing Klaus." Katherine agreed. "But to rid the world of hybrids, it is a small price to pay." she smiled.

"I'll do it." Elena agreed. "But under the condition Caroline is freed from Klaus first. I don't want her getting caught up in a mess you created." she told Katherine.

"I think we can work something out." Katherine smirked.

"I'll get Caroline." Stefan suggested. "Offer me in exchange for Caroline. I'm sure Klaus will do anything to torture me to see if I'm with Katherine and what I know." he said.

"And when Klaus compels you, you'll spill." Damon frowned. "No way brother."

"He won't." Katherine told them. "I've been helping him build up his vervain and blood tolerance."

"Vervain tolerance?" Damon asked, taken slightly aback. "How can he tolerate vervain?"

"Simple." Katherine grinned. "You need to start taking in a small drop of weak vervain every day, build it up until you can cope with the pain." she explained. "Even after one dose you won't be able to be compelled. Not that Klaus needs to know."

"So that's the plan superman?" Damon narrowed his eyes. "You plan to sacrifice yourself to Klaus, then pretend he's compelling you? You do know the vervain will be out of your system within three days if Klaus doesn't discover you've got it in you." he shook his head.

"Hopefully Klaus will be dead by then." Stefan explained. "If not, Rebekah is going to slip me some until the deed can be done." he said. "So I need to go back to New Orleans with you guys and let Klaus torture me while I feed him a pack of lies."

"Then we get Caroline, Bonnie and Enzo out of dodge?" Damon asked, although Elena knew he wasn't actually agreeing to the plans. They were so well connected at this point, she knew he was playing them, however she was also suspicious of their motives, but if it first meant getting Bonnie and Caroline away from New Orleans, she knew they had to play along for the time being.

"Then what?" Damon asked. "You don't seem to have much of a plan other than to force Elena to become a vampire and kill Klaus. What if she turns before we get the opportunity to kill him?" Damon asked.

"We can't stop the transition, but we can delay it with the help of a Bennett witch." Katherine told them. "Lucy can do the spell if Bonnie isn't ready yet." she said.

"By how long?" Elena frowned.

"She can give you an extra day." Katherine replied. "That should be enough for us to get in, keep Klaus occupied, feed him some bullshit, and kill him."

"What if Elena doesn't get the opportunity?" Damon raised an eyebrow.

"The both of you will die and then we will have to turn to our last option, Mikael." she said.

"But Klaus won't be able to create hybrids if Elena is dead." Damon said slowly. "So this isn't just about that. C'mon Katherine, for once in your fucking life be honest!" he demanded.

"Mikael wants revenge for Klaus bringing shame to his family by not being his son." Katherine replied. "He forced Elijah and I to go on the run and hand over our child to a stranger to keep her alive. Rebekah and Kol have had enough of being daggered. Marcel and Rebekah were prevented from consummating for fifty years because of Klaus." she added.

"Holy shit!" Damon whistled. "Elena and I couldn't wait fifty hours."

"I think that was too much information." Elena whispered into Damon's ear as she slipped her hand in his.

"So what is the rest of the plan?" Damon asked.

"You take Stefan to Klaus. Klaus releases Caroline who returns to Mystic Falls with Bonnie and Enzo." Katherine explained. "You feed Elena your blood and kill her." she shrugged.

"You know that is impossible." Damon shook his head. "I'm her mate and I can only do that after she has had a child. We need another way."

"I'll do it." Elena lowered her eyes. "I'll drink poison, or hang myself." she said.

"You know I have to save you if you try that?" Damon asked her. "It is instinctive in mates to protect each other. You'd do the same for me."

"What other option do we have?" Elena asked.

"How about Rebekah?" Katherine smirked. "I'm quite sure she'd oblige."

"We get Rebekah to kill Elena?" Damon sighed. "Harsh, knowing I can't do anything about it." he added as suddenly an idea came to him. "If Elena is up for it, I'll support her." he said. "But it's late and I think it's time Elena and I went to bed. Remember, she's human and needs her rest more than we do." he smirked.

"She probably does when you've finished with her." Katherine chuckled.

"I'm going hunting!" Stefan announced.

"I'll leave you both with plenty of vervain." Katherine took a bottle of clear liquid from her purse. "I would suggest Elena takes some too." she said.

"She's already got some in her system." Damon said quickly before Elena could say anything. "We'll start tomorrow." he added, looking pointedly at a confused Elena.

"Well I think that is my cue to leave." Katherine smiled as she got up.

"Just a question Katherine." Damon started as Katherine turned to look at him. "What would you have done had I not have gotten involved?" he asked.

Katherine shrugged. "I'd have simply compelled her." she said. "We made sure Klaus was around when Elena, Caroline and Bonnie went to New Orleans. I was going to leave the spell for the daylight ring with Caroline, but once my spies told me about what happened in the club, I realized it wasn't necessary and Bonnie would be asked to create the ring, thus leaving Klaus no option but to take her until she was okay to be let into the world. You just made my job easier." she grinned, and with that she disappeared.

Stefan got up to follow her. "I'll be gone a few hours to give you guys a little privacy." he said and left.

Once alone, Damon took Elena's hand and led her up the stairs and started to run a bath, to which Elena frowned, not quite understanding.

"I don't want anyone overhearing this conversation." Damon told her. "Vampires can't hear through running water."

"Oh." Elena frowned. "Okay. So what is all of the secrecy about?" she asked.

"You know I can't let you do this." he whispered.

"But there's no way out of it." Elena frowned.

"Oh but there is." Damon grinned. "There's a rule about the supernatural being pregnant. They are untouchable." he said.

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" Elena asked, shocked.

"Is it too soon?" Damon asked.

"With you, there's no such thing as too soon." Elena smiled.

"Would you care to share a bath and some blood, among other things?" Damon raised an eyebrow in a suggestive manner.

"Of course, if that's what it takes." Elena grinned, before her smile dropped. "They only want Klaus dead to make sure the white oak stake can never be used again, don't they?" she asked.

Damon nodded. "And I think Marcel and Rebekah just want control of New Orleans. Katherine and Elijah want revenge, and Kol wants to stay safe. Mikael is just a crazy guy who blames Klaus for his wife being mated to a werewolf." he sighed.

"Do you think Klaus really does want my blood?" she asked.

"At first I thought it sounded plausible, but the more I heard, the less I believed their reasoning." Damon shook his head. "You can kill any one of the Originals with that stake. They just need to make sure it isn't them. And if we have a little girl, I suspect it means there's more than one stake around, but I wanted to keep that to myself." he said.

"So what do you intend to do?" Elena asked.

"Hand Stefan over as planned. Then discuss it with Bonnie, Enzo and Caroline." Damon told her. "Enzo works in a different area of the spy network, I need to know if what they say is true." he continued. "If not, we go to Klaus."

"Won't he try and kill Stefan?" Elena said aghast.

Damon shook his head. "I'll explain to him Stefan has be fed this shit by Katherine and Elijah and he was protecting you. That is something Klaus will understand. He'll forgive Stefan because I'm saving his life."

"And if what they say is true?" Elena asked.

"Then Mikael will have to do the deed." Damon grinned.

"Won't they think it suspicious if I'm suddenly pregnant?" Elena asked.

"Katherine doesn't know the specifics for vampire and doppelganger procreation. She doesn't know we haven't already blood-shared, it isn't as if we haven't had the desire to." Damon grinned. "I'd suggest you call Sheila and ask her to tell anyone who asks, that she needs to consult the spirits about how doppelgangers and vampires procreate. Katherine was too preoccupied to ask." he smirked. "After that, I suggest we get to work on our very important little project."

"To be honest, I doubt I'd have been able to last much longer before blood-sharing became an urgent need." Elena sighed as she began to unbutton Damon's shirt, and kissing his chest.

"I'd have given it until the end of the day." Damon said thoughtfully as they kissed each other chastely on the lips.

"Strange, Katherine said she and Elijah were only together a few times, which means they blood-shared pretty quickly." Elena said thoughtfully. "Maybe the urge between a Petrova doppelganger and a vampire is the strongest sexual bond and the need to have a baby is greater because it is usually more urgent."

"Hmm, you could be on to something Miss Gilbert." Damon grinned. "But for the time being I suggest we stop talking. He said as he kissed her on the lips and the world seemed to fall away for the both of them.

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

The next morning Damon, Elena and Stefan, set off for New Orleans. After a long discussion, Damon and Elena decided it sounded like the rest of the Original family just wanted Klaus out of the way to take over New Orleans, while eradicating the white oak stake by ending the Petrova doppelganger line. It sounded too convenient for their liking. There was no doubt in Damon's mind that when Klaus wrote his diary entry two hundred years ago, he genuinely did want minions, as he'd been a different person back then. In fact, Klaus had changed a lot while Damon had known him, and it had been for the better.

The previous night, while making love, Damon and Elena had blood shared. They knew the consequences, not only did they do it because they wanted to ensure Elena's safety, but their supernatural urges would have forced them in that direction anyway, the desire would have been to strong for them to resist.

Afterwards, Elena had called Sheila and asked if she would tell anyone who asked that she hadn't told them until the morning they left to return to New Orleans, to which Sheila agreed to without asking any questions as to why Elena would want a delay in being told how to become pregnant.

Damon was desperate to contact Enzo to see if his friend knew anything about the situation with Klaus's hybrids, but he feared he was being listened to, or his calls were being monitored. To make matters worse, regardless of whether or not Enzo was Damon's best friend, he was an employee of Klaus and now had a mate, ensuring he wouldn't betray Klaus if he though it might harm Bonnie. Therefore rendering having any conversation with Enzo, impossible before they returned to New Orleans.

Damon was also genuinely concerned about the Caroline situation. Klaus had liked Caroline before she turned, Klaus wasn't mated and Damon was beginning to wonder if Caroline was his mate. If she was, that would render the plans completely pointless. Caroline would defend Klaus with her life, Enzo would defend Klaus as not only his employer, but because Bonnie would want to save Caroline, and Elena would want to defend Klaus for the same reason, thus placing Damon in the same position as Enzo. This was the part of the plan Katherine and the rest of the Originals had overlooked and could be their downfall, but it also could be his and Elena's too. Therefore there had to be a plan B.

This was why, the extremely awkward drive back to New Orleans proved to be just as useful as it did extremely awkward. Stefan was seething and Elena was constantly trying to apologize, not like it was their fault. It was supernatural nature that they were meant to be together. Meanwhile Damon and Elena wanted time alone, which Stefan wasn't prepared to let them have, which made Damon even more suspicious of his brother. Elena had been sat in the front seat, occasionally rubbing the back of Damon's hand, while they gave each other reassuring glances, but as soon as Stefan picked up on it he started to complain, to which Damon was ready to break his brother's neck to temporarily give him and Elena some alone time. The only reason he didn't was because he knew Elena wouldn't like it.

Therefore, Damon was left with plenty of time to plot all possible outcomes on his way back. The perfect scenario for a least complicated option would be Katherine being right, with Klaus and Caroline not being mated. But Damon was the eternal pessimist and knew there was no way they would get that lucky. However this also had its own complication. There was a ninety nine percent chance of Elena being pregnant, or currently in the process of conceiving. Goodness knows they'd made sure they gave it plenty of opportunities the night before. This meant Elena wouldn't be able to be turned. However, earlier that morning, when Elena spoken to Sheila on the phone, the Bennett witch had told her that Elena would become stronger once she conceived, almost as strong as a vampire in transition. This meant the plan could still be put into motion should Klaus need to be taken down.

However, Damon knew things wouldn't be that simple. He made a list of the things which could go wrong, the main one, and he highly suspected it was possible, was Caroline being mated with Klaus and his plans for his hybrid army being true. Fortunately, if he were mated to Caroline, Elena's friend would manage to stop Klaus going through with his plans, especially as the hybrids could be dangerous to Caroline herself. That left himself siding with Klaus and against the Original family with only one stake.

Stefan had given Damon what was supposed to be the white oak stake, but Damon couldn't be sure. He didn't trust his brother, and he was sure as hell his brother didn't trust him with the real stake, which was why, for now, Damon would consider it to be a fake, which begged the question as to where the real one was.

The plan forming in Damon's head was to try and force this back onto Mikael somehow. He knew the rest of the Mikaelson clan despised their father, which was why it had surprised him a little that they were going to try and kill Klaus instead of Mikael. If Damon could have his way, then it would be the other way around, which meant he needed to devise a plan, and for this, he needed to take Stefan to Klaus as agreed and then have a little chat with Enzo. He was sure between them, they could entice Mikael and kill him, in some way, shape or form.

When they finally arrived in New Orleans, Elena was fast asleep in the car. Damon didn't want to wake her, but she began to stir once he turned the engine off. They were in the underground parking lot of Klaus's apartment, ready to make the exchange of Stefan for Caroline. Damon had decided to tell Klaus some of the truth of what Katherine had told them. Namely that of the fate of the Petrova bloodline, being linked to immortals and playing a part in the lives of the Original family. This had been agreed with Stefan. They'd even brought the book which Katherine had been reading while Damon and Elena had been at Sheila's house, to confirm the theory.

Stefan was going to tell Klaus he bumped into Katherine in Chicago and she gave him the book and sent him to Mystic Falls, under the impression he may have been Elena's mate and to kick start Bonnie's powers. They would also tell him Katherine didn't know he didn't drink human blood, which meant he had no effect on Bonnie, however he did meet Elena, but they weren't mates. As far as Klaus was to know, this was Stefan's only known meeting with Katherine.

As they had agreed, Damon and Elena had also started taking the vervain. Damon thought he'd drank sulfuric acid, it hurt so bad, but he knew it would be for the greater good. He trusted Klaus not to compel him, but it there was still a small possibility the hybrid might try and compel Damon and Elena to protect him. Whichever way the meeting went down, drinking vervain for the rest of his life, might be the smartest thing he could do.

They exited the car and headed up the stairs. As they entered the apartment, Damon heard the most peculiar sound coming from one of the bedrooms, laughter, Klaus laughing to be more precise. He scanned the apartment, but couldn't find anyone. It was then that it occurred to him he hadn't announced he would be arriving back so soon. If Klaus and Caroline had mated, Damon, Elena and Stefan might have just walked in at a very awkward time.

Damon looked around and noticed there were no signs of any of his hybrid guards who followed him everywhere, which made him feel even more nervous than he already did.

Suddenly Klaus emerged from the room, a grin still on his face, his clothes perfect, not a single wrinkle, nor was there a hair out of place. However, the smile soon left his face when he saw Stefan.

"Well, well, well. Hello mate. Long time no see." Klaus smiled sarcastically at Stefan. "How's your friend, what was her name..." he stroked his chin dramatically. "Ah Lexi, that's it. Sorry, forgot, I killed her." he smirked.

Stefan scowled. "I didn't." he said with a low voice.

"Is that why you and Katerina have been plotting against me?" Klaus raised an eyebrow.

"Katherine saw me in Chicago and gave me a book. She then told me about a girl I needed to see in Mystic Falls." Stefan told him.

Klaus looked at Elena. "I take it this is the girl?" he asked and Stefan nodded. "Now why would Katerina want you to see a girl?"

"She also gave me this book, told me to read it and try to work out the significance of its contents. Then she disappeared." Stefan told Klaus, showing him the history of the Petrova doppelganger book which Katherine had been reading. "If she has seen me since then, she's done it by pretending to be Elena, but I don't think she has."

"Surely you'd know, or does animal blood dull your senses that much?" Klaus asked.

"If Katherine knew Elena well enough, I wouldn't be able to spot the difference." Stefan admitted. "I read the book and went to Mystic Falls in search of Elena. That was when I realized she had some destiny which could put her in danger. So I took it on to protect her myself." he continued. "In the process, I kinda fell for her." his eyes fell to the floor.

"And now she's your brothers mate." Klaus smirked. "And in all likelihood, probably already carrying his child."

Stefan's eyes flashed at Damon. "Is it true?" Stefan asked.

Elena and Damon looked at each other nervously, before Elena nodded. "I don't know yet, but from what Sheila told us, it was already too late. We'd done what we needed to do to conceive." she cast her eyes down.

"And you never thought to say anything?" Stefan spat.

"We only just found out ourselves." Damon stood in front of Elena protectively. "Elena spoke to Sheila just before we left. By then it was too late."

"They can't help it." Klaus told Stefan smugly. "The urge to share blood is too strong for them to deny themselves."

"And what is it to you?" Stefan asked, his composure seemed to have left him. As far Stefan was concerned, the plan was already falling apart because Damon couldn't keep it in his pants.

Klaus shrugged. "Damon is a good, loyal, friend of mine. I merely want to see him happy." he told him. "Isn't that what we all want for our friends?"

"And what do you want from Elena?" Stefan spat. "The same thing you wanted from the last Petrova doppelganger?"

Klaus narrowed his eyes and clapped his hands together, before edging closer to Stefan. "Is that what you really think?" he asked. "And I thought you said she just gave you the book. Because I for one know our dear Katerina must have put that notion into your head." he turned to Damon. "What do you say Damon?" he asked.

Damon knew he was now stuck between a rock and a hard place. If he squealed on Stefan, his brother might say Damon was also plotting against them, getting them all killed. But lying to Klaus could lead to the same conclusion, so he had to play it as neutral as possible with as much honesty as he could muster.

"I haven't read the book." Damon replied truthfully. Katherine had read the contents out loud to him, but he hadn't specifically read the book itself. "Who was the last Petrova doppelganger before Elena? And what did you need her for?" he asked.

"Creating hybrids requires the blood of a doppelganger." Klaus admitted.

Damon frowned. "So you want Elena's blood?" he asked.

Klaus laughed. "No mate. I'm done with those treasonous hybrids." he opened his arms and looked around the room. "Do you see any?" he asked.

Damon shook his head. "Where are they?" he asked.

"As you know Damon, when my hybrids are not on duty, I do allow them to live a life." Klaus began to explain. "A few years  ago, one of them ended up meeting a werewolf called Jackson. Turns out he was her mate. Not happy with her being sired to me, Jackson made it his mission to break the sire-bond. He eventually succeeded. In the meantime, Mindy continued to pretend to serve me while helping the rest of the hybrids remove the sire-bond." he continued. "Six months ago, I discussed the matter with Rebekah who suspected wasn't working alone. She went to Chicago as she'd done some digging on and found it to be Jackson's address around the time he met Mindy." Klaus turned to Stefan. "When did you see Katerina last? Around six months ago?" he raised an eyebrow as Stefan took a deep breath, realizing there was more to what was going on than Katherine had let on.

Stefan looked at Damon, then to Elena, and realized they also knew there was more going on than Katherine had let on, yet they'd still took him to Klaus. He wondered if Damon had a plan, because he knew his brother. And even though they weren't on the best of terms, there was a good chance Damon would have a plan. Especially as he knew Elena wouldn't be happy if Damon let him die. Therefore Stefan had to play Damon's game. He looked at his brother and gave a small nod, hoping Damon would realize he was agreeing to whatever his brother was up to.

"Something like that." Stefan sighed.

"Why do you think she gave you that book?" Klaus frowned.

"I have no idea." Stefan shook his head.

"I do." Klaus nodded. "You see, I know things about Katerina which other people don't. I even know who she's mated to." he smirked.

"I thought you told me it was Elijah." Damon frowned.

"Oh that has been the cover story which Elijah and I concocted centuries ago." Klaus told them. "Elijah has been tracking Katerina and her mate ever since."

"So who really is Katherine's mate?" Damon raised an eyebrow.

"Mikael." Klaus simply said.

"Your father? Wow, that's kinda sick." Damon screwed his face up.

"Tell me about it mate." Klaus shuddered dramatically.

"It was Elijah who alerted me to Jackson helping Mindy and the rest of the hybrids to break the sire-bond. His mate is also a werewolf called Hayley. So Elena, yes I do want some of your blood to create a hybrid, but she won't be sired to me as she is already mated to my brother, rendering the sire-bond ineffective." he admitted. "Either that or we will need the white oak stake to kill my brother, and frankly I don't want to see him die." he said sadly.

"So where are the hybrids now?" Elena asked.

"Dead!" Klaus simply said. "I killed them for their treasonous behavior. That is why I never want to see another hybrid ever again!"

"And what if another vampire is mated with a werewolf?" Elena asked. "Would they want my blood?" she asked.

"I won't let them." Klaus told her. "Once you you and Damon have had your child, you'll want to turn. I would suggest you do immediately."

"And if she wants to breast feed?" a female voice appeared in the room, one which belonged to Caroline, who was looking extremely well. "They say breast is best!"

"Caroline!" Elena exclaimed as she ran over to Caroline and they hugged.

"She has to be allowed to do it properly!" Caroline insisted, smiling at Elena. "This will be the only baby you have. You can't not have the whole experience." she said, glaring at Klaus.

"And you intend to protect her love?" Klaus asked softly.

"If I have to!" Caroline smiled. "Plus, if I'm there, you'll be there too." she said with a coy look on her face which told Damon and Elena only one thing.

"Are you two mated?" Elena asked.

Caroline nodded, with a huge grin. "Yes!" she squeaked. "And you're pregnant already." she screamed excitedly.

"Congratulations." Elena jumped up and down. "Have you two...you know?" she asked.

"Excuse me, right here!" Klaus snapped waving his hand around.

"Sorry." Elena lowered her eyes.

"Well, we were hoping you'd swap Caroline for Stefan." Damon sighed. "But I know Caroline won't be leaving your side by choice. So does that mean I can take Stefan back to my place?" he asked. "I'm sure we can find some local wildlife somewhere. Maybe a drive out into the Bayou?" he suggested, with a smirk on his face.

"As long as you and Enzo keep an eye on him." Klaus agreed. "He might inadvertently know something he didn't realize was important." he said.

"Okay, let's go." Damon nodded.

"Umm, can was have some kind of celebration?" Caroline asked. "I mean in the club. All three of us are mated. Maybe Stefan could find his." she shrugged. "Fate seems to be drawing us to New Orleans at the same time. I wouldn't be surprised if Stefan finds his while he is here."

"I won't be able to drink if I'm pregnant." Elena sighed.

"Nonsense!" Klaus laughed. "It is a supernatural pregnancy. Normal rules do not apply. You can eat and drink whatever you want. The baby will be healthy as it has vampire blood fixing everything to make the child as perfect as possible." he explained. "Maybe we ought to have a small party at the club." he suggested to Damon.

Damon nodded. "I'll talk to Enzo. See what we can arrange."

"I'll give Elijah's mate my blood." Elena agreed.

"Thank you." Klaus smiled. "I'll let him know. He will be most grateful. I'll send him to yours tonight Damon." he said.

"How will I know who he is?" Damon frowned.

"Suit, impeccable manners and extremely well groomed." Klaus smiled. "You already know him as Elijah Smith." he said.

"That Elijah?" Damon looked as Klaus wide-eyed before hitting himself on his forehead with embarrassment. "Why did I never put it together. I mean how many vampires called Elijah can there be?" he asked.

"Oh you'd be surprised." Klaus grinned. "Now be off with you. Caroline and I were quite busy before you interrupted us. I need you to start planning that party for Monday night." he said.

"How many?" Damon asked.

"I think we ought to keep it small." Klaus said thoughtfully. "Probably about two hundred." he nodded.

"I'll get right on it." Damon nodded. "Let's go." he put his arm around Elena and led them from Klaus's apartment.

When they got to the car, Damon put some music on to ensure Klaus couldn't hear them.

"Well that didn't go as expected." Damon said. "I guess you were double-crossed." he smiled at Stefan, who nodded.

"So what do we do now" Elena asked.

"We wait to meet with Elijah." Damon replied as he drove them back to his house.

 


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

**Thank you all for your kind reviews. They are always appreciated.**

**Warning, explicit language.**

Damon, Elena and Stefan finally arrived back at Damon's New Orleans home. Stefan took his things to his room and returned, only to be joined minutes later by Bonnie and Enzo. Elena and Bonnie hugged each other tightly declaring how much they missed each other, however their greeting was cut short when Enzo punched Stefan in the face.

"What was that for?" Stefan asked, rubbing his jaw.

"For being a fucking arsehole to your brother, you dickhead!" Enzo scowled.

"What the hell is going on?" Bonnie cried. "Enzo!"

"Stefan has done everything in his power to ruin Damon's life." Enzo growled. "And when Damon needed him, he didn't even bother helping. He was so self absorbed he abandoned him."

"What is he talking about?" Bonnie asked.

"He's talking about when Damon and Enzo needed rescuing and they hoped Stefan would come for them, but didn't." Elena told her before narrowing her eyes at Bonnie. "Didnt you get that from Enzo, when you...you know?" she asked.

"I want to talk to Jeremy first." Bonnie said.

"You know he's not going to understand." Elena sighed. "What are you going to say exactly? You found a supernatural vampire mate? Or you met some guy who you fell for, but you haven't slept with him until you tell Jeremy?" she asked. "Bonnie, I know what you are going through. It's not your fault. Maybe it is for the best if you lie to Jeremy. Whether you and Enzo consummate is your own business, but it won't make any difference to how Jeremy views it. And I'm his sister, I should be on his side, but I understand your problem."

"How did you know we hadn't?" Bonnie frowned.

"You'd have known what happened to Enzo if you had." Elena told her.

"Does that really happen?" Enzo asked, looking at Damon and Elena, who both nodded.

"Why couldn't you hold out until you told me?" Stefan asked Elena.

"Because she's not a witch." Bonnie replied. "I can ease the symptoms for Enzo and I, but not for anyone else. Damon and Elena resisting for longer than three days would have been impossible." she shrugged. "The spell I've cast won't hold much longer, which means I need to go back to Mystic Falls as quickly as possible." Bonnie turned to Elena. "Did you see Jeremy?" she asked.

"Umm, no." Elena shook her head. "We were only there long enough to find Stefan and get back. We were...umm...kinda in a rush." she nodded, realizing she had been so caught up in everything, she hadn't even been home. "Plus, at first we couldn't risk being seen. But we did see your Grams." she nodded.

"Did she know about doppelganger procreation?" Bonnie asked, raising an eyebrow. Elena nodded. "And?" Bonnie asked.

"Well, I don't think there's a morning after pill." Elena smirked.

"Already?" Bonnie put her hands to her mouth. "This calls for a celebration." she giggled.

"Klaus is already on it." Damon said solemnly.

"Klaus?" Enzo frowned. "Why is Klaus interested?"

"It's not just for Elena and I." Damon replied. "It is because you and Bonnie are mated...and so is he." he said the last part slowly.

"Klaus is mated?" Enzo opened his eyes in shock. "Do we know her?" he asked.

Damon and Elena looked at each other before Bonnie cried out. "It's Caroline!"

Elena sucked in a deep breath. "Yeah, it's Caroline." she frowned, still not sure what to make of the entire situation, and confused as hell with who she could trust, other than Damon. Even Caroline was now questionable as she would protect Klaus no matter what, including lying for him.

"Look, Enzo." Damon frowned. "We need to talk. And it can't go further than this room, and I mean not to Klaus." he said as Enzo narrowed his eyes.

"Why?" Enzo asked.

"Because, there was some stuff I held back from Klaus." Damon sighed. "I didn't want to, but it is probably for his own good. Sometimes, to save someones ass, you need them to know as little as possible."

Enzo nodded. "True." he agreed.

"But I think you can answer some of the questions which need asking before we can come up with a plan and run it by Klaus." Damon went on. "I hate lying to him, but if what I think is going on is right, then he is in danger."

"Klaus can't be killed." Enzo said. "Well, only by an Original, or a..." he stopped and looked at Elena. "...a human Petrova doppelganger." he said slowly. "What is going on?"

"What is going on with Klaus and the hybrids?" Damon asked.

Enzo rolled his eyes. "They unsired themselves and Klaus killed them." he told him. "Klaus was furious, said he wanted to ensure that hybrids would be eradicated."

"All hybrids?" Damon asked.

"Well, obviously not himself, and he does want... I really shouldn't say anything." Enzo frowned.

"He wants Hayley to turn, he needs Elena human." Damon asked as Enzo nodded sheepishly. "But she is the only one and after that Elena is free to turn?" he asked. "How long have you known about Hayley?"

"She and Elijah met about a year ago." Enzo admitted. "She's due to have her baby any time. But she's a werewolf and the only way she can turn is with doppelganger blood. The only other option is for Elijah to die after Hayley does, which means that Elena would need to stay human and do it, otherwise the white oak stake becomes dangerous and can kill other Originals." he explained.

"So why would Katherine want Elena to use it on Klaus if it was to burn up inside him and be destroyed forever?" Damon asked.

"To ensure Mikael can't die." Enzo told him.

"So Katherine really is mated to Mikael?" Damon frowned, to which Enzo nodded. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"You never asked." Enzo shrugged. "I run Klaus's intelligence network and you ran a club and acted like a playboy. I only told you stuff which directly involved you." he said.

"And Klaus has never compelled you to swear to secrecy?" Damon frowned, finding Enzo's openness odd.

"When you left to get Stefan, Klaus told me I was free to talk to you about anything." Enzo shrugged. "He can't compel me because I'm on vervain. He trusts me enough to put me on it so that none of his siblings or Mikael can compel secrets out of me." he smirked.

"Is everyone except me one vervain?" Damon shook his head in disbelief.

"Now tell me what you know?" Enzo asked.

"Can we be certain he's telling the truth?" Stefan asked.

"I'd trust him more than Katherine." Damon replied before turning to Enzo. "Okay, so Katherine wasn't lying when she said she'd seen Stefan." he told him. "Except I left a few things out when I told Klaus. She told us she was mated with Elijah." he said as Enzo burst into laughter.

"I think that is the craziest thing I have ever heard." Enzo shook his head.

"It didn't seem odd when I didn't know who Elijah was." Damon sighed. "But Klaus told me his pseudonym. So now it make a little more sense. Elijah is a little stiff for Katherine." he smirked as Enzo nodded in agreement. "So Katherine told us Rebekah, Marcel, Kol, Davina, Elijah and her were plotting against Klaus to bring him down. They all have their various reasons, which sounded plausible." he explained.

"I'm sure they did." Enzo's face took a more serious look as if he knew something, but wasn't going to make the big reveal until he knew more.

Damon decided to continue so he could find out what Enzo was thinking. "She said Rebekah had found a journal from around two hundred years ago when he said he wanted to make more hybrids, and would use the next doppelganger."

"Hmm." Enzo frowned, his face looking worried.

"What's wrong?" Damon asked.

"A diary went missing from Klaus's office about six months ago." Enzo explained. "Klaus had been waiting for the next Petrova doppelganger to appear for Hayley. He knew where she was all along and has had her under surveillance since she was a baby, just in case any situation may arise when she was needed. Admittedly, he did intend to create more hybrids. But they started to become unsired. This has been going on for a few years, Klaus knew about it, but did nothing. He wanted to test their loyalty. When the last one was unsired, they began to leave him. Those times when I've gone missing, I've been hybrid hunting. Sometimes Rebekah does it, and sometimes it was Marcel. Kol never did because he met Davina, and Elijah had met Hayley, although she ended up proving very useful in gathering knowledge for us. Quite often they returned to their packs." he told him.

"I wonder who took it?" Damon frowned.

"Maybe one of the hybrids." Enzo shrugged. "It fits in with the timeline."

"Anyway, Katherine said Rebekah took it and they didn't want any more hybrids making as there was the potential to destroy the entire vampire species." Damon explained. "Which is what they believed Klaus's master-plan to be. So they wanted Elena to kill Klaus with the white oak stake so that it would burn up and not be a threat to Elijah."

"Or Mikael." Enzo shook his head. "But we can't be sure whether the white oak stake burns with the doppelganger or the Original." he told Damon. "Klaus has kept that information close to his chest."

"I thought even Originials couldn't use it." Elena frowned.

"The Original siblings can't." Enzo agreed. "Mikael is their father, not a sibling.He and Esther were the only other two who can use the white oak stake. But Esther is dead, so she is not an option." he said.

"But Miss Sheila said..." Elena started.

"A lot of misinformation has been spread around about that stake." Enzo told her. "Even the witch community are confused by it. The spirits of nature will not give them a true answer as to how it is used."

"Why?" Bonnie asked.

"Because the spell to create an immortal originated from Traveler magic, not the spirits of nature." Enzo explained. "Of course nature chose to fight back, but we are talking about two different types of magic. The spirits of nature are not the ultimate deciders of the fate of the white oak stake. That belongs to the travelers, because not only was the immortality spell created by the Travelers, so was the doppelganger spell. Traveler spirits do not talk to the spirits of nature. They are enemies." he said.

"Why?" Bonnie asked.

"Can we leave the history lesson for another day?" Damon asked. "I wan't to talk about what Mikael and Katherine are up to." he sighed.

"So would they want to stop the stake from being destroyed?" Elena asked. "Or allow it to be able to kill more Originals?"

Enzo turned to her. "Mikael despises his entire family for siding with Klaus. He wants them all dead." he explained. "You see, not only did the diary go missing, but so did Klaus's daggers." he shook his head.

"Daggers?" Elena asked.

"They are special weapons which can put an Original into a death like state until it is removed." Damon explained. "He used to use them a lot, but since his siblings found mates, they aren't needed anymore." Damon turned to Enzo. "This is serious. You don't think Mikael and Katherine have them do you?" he asked.

"I suspect they do." Enzo nodded.

"So do you think they were intending to take down the entire family?" Damon frowned.

"I guess if Mikael daggered them all, he could get Elena to kill them with the stake until there is only one left, probably Klaus. Or the other way around, Mikael kills the others while Elena kills Klaus. Whichever is the accurate version. I guess then he would kill Elena. That would destroy The Originals, you, Elena, Marcel, Davina and Caroline." Enzo looked at them wide-eyed.

"That's one hell of a kill list." Damon whistled.

"So how do we stop them?" Elena asked.

"We need to play smart." Damon told them before turning to Stefan. "What do you think to what you've heard today?" he asked.

"Wait till we see Elijah." Stefan replied. "If he is who I think he is, I know him." he frowned.

"How?" Elena asked.

"Remember that High School history teacher of yours who came back to Mystic Falls write a book?" Stefan asked Elena.

"Mr Smith, with the great hair." Elena nodded. "Oh my god, him?" she looked shocked.

"You're right." Enzo nodded. "We thought Mikael might start sniffing round Mystic Falls, looking for the doppelganger, so he stayed there for a while on duty to protect Elena and to keep an eye out for Mikael." he explained.

"He was my favorite teacher." Elena gushed.

"Mine too." Bonnie agreed. "He made history seem so interesting, as if he'd experienced it first hand." she grinned.

"He probably had experienced it." Damon laughed. "The guy is like a thousand years old."

"I remember Caroline having a huge crush on him." Bonnie giggled.

"It's probably best you don't tell Klaus that." Damon frowned. "Not that it makes a lot of difference as he and Caroline are mated, but nobody wants to rock a Mikaelson sibling boat and cause any daggering, especially right now." he said.

"If Elijah confirms what Klaus says, and promises Elena won't have to donate more than a liter or so, then I'll go with whatever plan you can come up with." Stefan sighed.

"Are you sure?" Damon asked. "Because what I'm thinking about won't be pretty." he warned him.

"I think I already know." Stefan said sadly. "I haven't taken vervain today. I suspect it might be for the best." he admitted.

"You are on the right page." Damon grinned. "It could save you a lot of pain and discomfort, otherwise, if Klaus found out you'd got it in your system, he'd bleed it out of you. Its not pretty." Damon shuddered. "But if you can pretend to be compelled, then carry on taking it, just be honest with him."

"What's your plan?" Elena asked.

"Hand Stefan over to Klaus, he tells Klaus what Katherine told him." Damon explained. "You can't go into transition, even though I suspect Katherine might have known that already. We give Klaus the white oak stake and let him deal with Mikael."

"How can we be certain the white oak stake burns up with the doppelganger or the Original?" Stefan asked.

"Ask Elijah." Enzo replied. "He'll know. Only then can we come up with a plan to kill Mikael." he said.

"So is that your plan? Kill Mikael?" Stefan asked. "And if Elena has to be the one to do it, how do you suggest she goes about it while possibly being pregnant?"

"We don't know for sure if I am pregnant." Elena insisted. "Although admittedly the chances are extremely high." she admitted.

"I'd say they are one hundred percent." came a voice from behind.

Everyone turned to look and saw a man, dressed in an expensively tailored suit carrying a briefcase, who looked absolutely immaculate.

"Mr Smith!" Elena and Bonnie said together.

"Elena, Bonnie." Elijah smiled. "It is good to see you again." he said, placing the briefcase down on a side table.

"How come Mr Smith didn't trigger my powers?" Bonnie asked.

"Please call me Elijah." Elijah smiled, straightening his perfectly straight suit. "An Original does not trigger a witch's powers." he explained. "It is part of our magic which is quite different to that of a normal vampire." he said. "Please, carry on with your little discussion." he smiled.

"Actually, we need your help." Damon told him.

"Continue." Elijah said, waiting for Damon's explanation.

"Katherine and Mikael might be plotting to take down your entire family." Enzo explained.

"So what is new?" Elijah raised and eyebrow. "They've been trying for the last five hundred years, unsuccessfully may I add. Although my brother Finn wasn't quite so lucky." he sighed.

"They're planning to use Elena in some way." Damon told him. "We don't know the exact rules of the white oak stake. Katherine told us it would burn up if used by a Petrova doppelganger. But Katherine lies about everything, so she can't be trusted. And we know Klaus won't say anything."

"Only the doppelganger can destroy the white oak stake." Elijah told them.

"So Katherine was telling the truth." Stefan narrowed his eyes.

"Well, there's a first for everything." Damon shrugged.

"As you already know, the daggers went missing a while back." Enzo said to Elijah. "So I'm guessing he wants to dagger you all and then kill you off, one by one."

"The daggers don't work on Klaus as he's a hybrid." Elijah told them.

"I heard that." Damon nodded.

"He'll find a way to dagger us all and then stake us before making Elena stake Klaus, although I can't see how that would be possible, unless they are going to abandon the rules of not turning a pregnant woman." Elijah frowned. "Although I wouldn't put it past Mikael and Katerina to do such a wicked thing. Have they got the white oak stake?" he asked.

"They gave it to me." Stefan told them.

"Bring it to me!" Elijah commanded as Stefan went to his room, only to return a minute later with the wooden weapon in his hand.

"It certainly looks like the white oak stake." Elijah agreed before walking over to the fire and throwing it in.

"What are you doing?" Bonnie asked.

"I'm checking to see if it is the real one or a fake." Elijah told them. "If it is the real one, it cannot be destroyed by any method other than a Petrova doppelganger daggering an Original. A little fire won't harm it." he said staring into the flames. "However this one doesn't seem to like fire very much, which means it is a fake." he said, turning back around to face them.

"So what do we do?" Damon asked.

"We all need to stay together." Elijah told him. "We have an old house on the outskirts of New Orleans. The entire family and Elena need to stay there until she can turn, where no harm can come to her." he suggested.

"If you think we're living with the entire Original family for the next nine months, there is absolutely no way in hell!" Damon shook his head. "We need a plan B. which is why I think we should make it look like we are doing what Katherine asked." he told them. "We just need to make sure there is an Original and a witch next to Elena at all times to make sure she can't be kidnapped." he said.

"And then?" Elijah raised an eyebrow.

"We lure them out when we have the party." Damon suggested. "We just make sure that nobody knows about Elena being pregnant. Katherine and Mikael will have a great opportunity as all the Mikaelson siblings will be there at the same time, but not necessarily together. But we have to make sure we can spot Elena, because I have a feeling Katherine might try and pass as her."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Elijah asked.

"I can do a spell." Bonnie smiled. "I can create a temporary tattoo, which is only visible to those who need to know. Nobody else will be able to see it. If there is no tattoo, you'll know it is Katherine." she grinned.

"And what do you need to perform this spell?" Damon frowned.

"Just some of Elena's blood, so that everyone who needs to know can take a little sip." Bonnie explained.

"I think I can do that." Elena agreed.

"Speaking of Elena's blood." Elijah interrupted. "I hope you don't mind me being forward, but my brother says you agreed to donate some blood so that Hayley can become a hybrid."

"Of course." Elena smiled. "How do you want it?" she asked.

Elijah walked over to the table where he had placed his briefcase and opened it, producing a syringe, a tube and some empty blood-bags.

"I apologize for the crude set up." Elijah said, but it is better than slashing the palm of your hand open with a knife. Luckily I brought more than one bag, as it appears Miss Bennett may have need of one." he smiled.

"I'd prefer we do this in one sitting." Elena agreed.

"Good!" Elijah smiled at Elena. "If you'd like to sit down, I can get this set up rather quickly and painlessly." he added as he tied a band around Elena's arm to help find a vein. "Please Damon, continue with your plan. I can do this and listen at the same time." he said as he began to draw the blood from Elena's arm.

To distract himself from what was happening to Elena, he decided to go into detail about his plan to stop Mikael and Katherine, and save himself, Elena, Caroline and the rest of the Original family from annihilation.

 


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

Over the next few days, plans to take on Mikael and Katherine were made in earnest, although Elena and Bonnie weren't involved in any of them. When the time was ready, they'd be told what needed to be done on their part. They knew only one of them needed to die as the other would kill themselves because of the mating bond. When it had been established that pretty much every word which had come out of Katherine's mouth had been a lie, even Stefan decided to stop her. Both Rebekah and Marcel returned to New Orleans, as did Kol and a now pregnant Davina.

However, the plans to take down Mikael and Katherine were not the only events of interest which took place over the following days. Hayley had given birth to a daughter, and took some of Elena's blood to turn her into a hybrid. Bonnie and Enzo mated, and it turned out they had even less restraint when it came to blood-sharing than Damon and Elena, meaning there was an extremely good chance both Elena and Bonnie were pregnant. Unfortunately, this couldn't have been worse timing for Caroline, because, as far as anyone was aware, there had been no vampire on vampire pregnancies. In fact, no female vampire had ever had a child, the situation had always been with a male vampire and female witch, or doppelganger in Elena's case. Therefore, both Elena and Bonnie knew they were going to have to tread carefully when they both went to see her at Klaus's apartment.

Damon, Elena, Bonnie, Enzo and Stefan arrived at Klaus's apartment to discuss strategy. When they arrived, they were greeted by a blonde haired woman who only Enzo and Damon seemed to know, and they appeared almost afraid of her.

"Hello Damon, hello Enzo." the woman said in an English accent.

"Hello Valerie." Enzo rolled his eyes.

"And who is this?" she asked, standing up and moving towards Stefan, who frowned at her.

"This is my brother Stefan." Damon grimaced. "Stefan, meet Valerie Tulle." he said as Stefan smiled and held his hand out to shake hers.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Stefan said, almost sheepishly.

"Valerie is a vampire-witch hybrid." Klaus smirked in the background as everyone turned to see him. "She has a specialist knowledge of supernatural pregnancies. I thought we could see if you girls are going to be mothers." he added.

"I thought she was one of your lackey's." Damon frowned.

"Oh please." Valerie sighed. "It is a cover. I run the medical unit for supernatural pregnancies here in New Orleans. Quite often, those who have mated from elsewhere in the country come here as I am a very experienced specialist. In fact, I'm the most experienced doctor in the world regarding supernatural pregnancies." she smiled.

"Doctor?" Elena asked.

"Not only am I qualified in the supernatural aspect, but I decided to study as initially a midwife, and eventually as a doctor. Time to learn is one of the perks of being a vampire." Valerie explained.

"Have you ever had a child of your own?" Bonnie asked.

Valerie shook her head sadly. "I met and fell in love when I was young, before I turned. I wanted to have a child, but he wasn't my mate, so we were separated. I was mad with grief and killed myself." she told them.

"I thought witches couldn't become vampires and keep their powers." Bonnie narrowed her eyes.

"I was a siphoner." Valerie explained. "As a human I had to draw my power from an external magical source to allow me to perform magic. As a vampire, I was a magical creature and had permanent access to magic, thus making me both a witch and a vampire."

All of the time, Stefan had continued to stare at Valerie, her face seemingly familiar. "Your face is really familiar." he suddenly said, causing Valerie to smile.

"I wondered how long it would take for you to recognize me." she said, a twinge of sadness in her voice. "Maybe we should talk later. It's not like we don't have forever." she added, a blush coming to her cheeks.

"You two know each other?" Damon asked, looking confused.

"Remember the girl who broke my heart not long before we met Katherine?" Stefan asked as Damon looked thoughtfully for a moment, before the realization hit him who Stefan meant.

"That's Valerie? _The_ Valerie" he asked, clearly shocked by the revelation, as Stefan nodded in reply. "Your taste has improved since then." he smiled as he looked at Elena before turning to Stefan again. "You do know she is a psycho bitch." he shook his head in disbelief. "Did you know who I was all of that time?" he asked Valerie.

"I did." she nodded. "I was wondering if you'd ever mention Stefan, but I realized you two clearly were no longer close, so I gave up and started to be a bitch to you instead." she grinned.

"Elena, Bonnie!" Caroline's screamed from across the room as the three girls ran into each other's arms and began to hug each other.

"Oh my god, how are you?" Bonnie cried, it being the first time she'd seen Caroline since Bonnie became a witch and Caroline a vampire.

"I'm fine, but what's going on?" Caroline asked, looking confused.

"I'm here to be a guest of Klaus." Stefan said through gritted teeth.

"And you're coming back to Damon's house with us." Elena explained as Caroline's face fell.

"I can't leave Klaus." she protested. "He needs me." she insisted as there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Klaus called out as a man walked in, who Elena didn't recognize, but it seemed everyone else in the room did.

"What's going on?" Elena frowned, also appearing confused.

"This is Vincent." Damon introduced them. "Vincent, this is my mate Elena." he smiled as Elena walked back over to Damon before taking Elena's hand and shaking it.

"Hello Elena." Vincent smiled. "I'm glad to finally meet you." he said.

"Damon?" Elena looked at her mate as she shook Vincent's hand. "What is going on?" she asked once more.

"Why don't we all sit down?" Klaus suggested as they made their way into the lounge area and sat down on the huge sofa's. "Maybe it would be a wise idea to explain why we are all here." he smiled.

"I'll start." Valerie put her hand up. "I'm here for two reasons. The most important one you need to know about right now is that I need to check all three of you over for pregnancy." she said as Caroline frowned.

"Why do you need to check me?" she asked. "I'm a vampire, Klaus is a vampire, I can't get pregnant." she said.

"Klaus is a hybrid, not a vampire." Valerie corrected her. "When you blood share, he bites you as a werewolf, and heals you as a hybrid. The blood sharing is different as in some respects, he is the human in your mating."

"You think it is possible?" Klaus asked, hope in his eyes.

"Valerie asked me to consult the witch spirits." Vincent told them. "They suspect you have the abilities to father a child, even with a vampire mate, as long as she is part of your sire line, which we know Caroline is as Damon is her sire."

"I didn't know I was part of your line." Damon frowned.

"It is irrelevant whichever way." Klaus shrugged.

"Except in this matter." Vincent corrected him.

"So I'm here to check all three girls, in a medical capacity." Valerie smiled.

"Can we have a second opinion doc?" Damon raised an eyebrow. "It's not that I don't trust you, but you were a complete bitch to me. How do I know you won't do something to hurt Elena?" he asked.

"Well that comes down to the second reason I am here." Valerie smiled. "Stefan is my mate." she said.

"What?" Stefan frowned. "I haven't felt anything."

"It isn't always immediate." Valerie explained. "Except it was when we first met. You see I fell pregnant with your child. I couldn't carry it as you weren't supernatural at the time, something I only discovered in later years. But the witch spirits knew your fate, which is how come you were able to get me pregnant while you were human."

"So you knew all along that my brother was your mate, even though he had no idea, and yet you were still a bitch to me?" Damon asked, his voice in shock.

"This has nothing to do with you Damon." Valerie shook her head. "But I was being protective over my mate, just like you feel with Elena. But I see your relationship with Stefan isn't as bad as I suspected. It isn't hate, it is simply separation." she shrugged. "Stefan and I will have some alone time later." she smiled at Stefan who looked confused.

"I got you pregnant." he whispered.

"We'll talk about it later." Valerie told him. "It was a sign from the spirits to let me know you would be my mate. It also means I can still have a child with you as I am a hybrid." she smiled. "You'll soon forget you ever had feelings other than a platonic affection towards Elena. But I think it best we talk about it when we are alone and I am torturing you." she smirked.

"She's good at that." Enzo warned Stefan. "She likes to nag, you poor sod. Imagine being mated to her." he shuddered.

"Hey, leave her alone!" Stefan said defensively before putting his hand over his mouth as he realized the nature of mating was starting to take hold.

"And there is the proof of the pudding." Enzo grinned. "They are most definitely mates."

"So pregnancies and mates." Bonnie started. "What else are we here for?" she asked.

"We need to swap Stefan for Caroline." Klaus grimaced. "Katherine is expecting me to torture Stefan and for me to hand Caroline over. So we have to pretend Damon, Elena and Stefan are doing exactly that. Elena also needs to be in delayed transition." he added.

"She has to do what!" Damon stood up, eyes blazing. "No fucking way. If Elena is pregnant, she is not going to die!" he insisted as Elena placed her hand in his to reassure him.

"We can delay the transition." Valerie told them. "That is why Vincent is here. We are going to need a lot of magic, and especially Bennett magic." she explained. "He will channel the New Orleans spirits, Bonnie can channel the Bennett line and I can channel the Gemini coven." she explained. "We can move the child into a surrogate until Elena has completed her transition, then we can move the baby back."

"Can a baby grow inside a vampire?" Damon asked.

"Duh!" Caroline rolled her eyes. "Have you not been listening? Seriously Damon. What am I?" she asked.

"A vampire." Damon frowned.

"Exactly, and I can carry a child." she insisted.

"There is no reason why a vampire cannot carry a baby." Valerie explained. "It hasn't been done often, but when the urge to turn becomes too great, the spell has been preformed on occasion. It can be quite harmful to all involved if the transition doesn't happen. Witches only do it to keep their bloodlines going. As Elena isn't a witch, we need a magical bloodline which is tied to her. The Bennett line has been tied to the Petrova doppelganger for almost two millennia. As long as she has Bonnie's blood in her when she dies, we can complete the transition safely as the spirits will allow it to happen. Once she has transitioned, we can return the child to her safely and she will continue with her pregnancy as normal. I would recommend that the child is returned after we have dealt with the Mikael and Katherine situation." he suggested.

"Do we have anyone who is a willing human volunteer?" Damon asked.

Klaus looked at Damon. "I asked Cami." he said.

"Asked or compelled?" Damon raised an eyebrow.

"She's on vervain." Vincent shook his head. "She was more than willing to help. Although I think you're going to owe her big time." he smiled.

"Who's Cami?" Elena asked.

Damon looked uncomfortable. "She runs the bar at the club." he explained. "She's human."

Elena frowned. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Damon was sleeping with her before he met you." Enzo smirked.

"Oh great!" Elena sat back and folded her arms in indignation.

"Don't worry love." Enzo smiled. "As soon as she found out, she stopped taking the vervain to ask for her memories to be modified. She already knew if Damon would find his mate she'd be dumped. Having her memories modified was always the plan should the situation arise. As soon as I compelled her, she took some vervain."

"Does it have to be her?" Elena sighed.

"We need a human volunteer." Valerie explained. "A female vampire will only be able to carry her own child with her mate, her body would reject it. A human would be able to carry the child without problems. We don't have many volunteers in that department I'm afraid."

"We don't even know if I'm pregnant yet." Elena insisted.

"I suggest we find out." Valerie got up and walked over to a table with a briefcase on top of it. She searched through and found what she needed and handed Elena, Bonnie and Caroline each a little container. "The bathroom is over there." she said pointing to a door. "I need all three of you to pee into the little container. When you've finished, meet me in that room over there." Valerie pointed towards another door. "Klaus has set it up for me to do some examinations, both medical and supernatural." she smiled.

"Pee, into that?" Caroline made a face. "Eww. That's disgusting."

"There's antibacterial hand-wash in there." Valerie added. "I'd suggest you use it." With that she took her briefcase to the room she'd told the girls to meet her in.

five minutes later, the four women were inside the room which had a hospital style examination bed, with what looked like a scanning machine, and curtains which could be pulled around for privacy.

"Are you going to look down there?" Bonnie asked in horror, prompting Valerie to laugh.

"No." Valerie shook her head. "A pregnancy test for a supernatural mating with a vampire is very different to a human pregnancy test. It requires the use of magic." she held up what looked like a large piece of salt. "If I placed this into your sample, it would simply dissolve." she told them. "But if I cast the spell on your stomach, then break it in half and place part of it into your sample, the liquid will turn either yellow, blue or pink."

"Why three colors?" Elena asked.

"It depends on your trimester." Valerie explained. "In a vampire pregnancy, the first trimester is over in a few of days. The rest of the pregnancy is half the length of a normal pregnancy. If the sample is yellow, you are still in the first trimester. If it is blue or pink, it means we can tell the sex of the child. Combine that and the date you first blood shared, a scan and then we can determine when the child is due."

"Does that mean we'll be looking looking for maternity clothes in the next few days?" Caroline asked with a shocked voice as Valerie laughed. "I don't think I'm quite ready for that."

"Nobody is ever ready for a supernatural birth." Valerie explained. "We usually say that you are initially further along than you are and that you didn't show until almost five months. When the child arrives three months later, we explain the child was slightly premature. After that, the child grows naturally. Having supernatural parents helps the growth of the child." she turned to Bonnie. "Bonnie, unlike you, your child will be ready to practice magic from an early age as he or she will have been exposed to vampires." she explained. "The witch community will help raise that child as it is usually a sign they are going to be an extremely powerful witch, because your mating and subsequent transition into a vampire will transfer to the child. About a week before you are due to have the baby, you will feel the urge to turn. Quite often the urge is so strong, witches turn a few days before they are due, which forces them to go into labor slightly early. It is the transference of magic that will force you to do this and is completely natural." she continued. "For Elena and Caroline, they will be vampires for their pregnancy and won't have to concern themselves with the urge to turn. So who wants to go first?" she asked.

The three of them looked at each other with trepidation until Caroline stepped forward. "I will." she offered, laying down on the bed. Valerie went to close the curtain, but Caroline shook her head. "We're all in this together, right?" she asked as Elena and Bonnie nodded their heads vigorously.

Valerie took a deep breath. "Fine, lets go." she said. "Now I need you to pull the waistband of your skirt down a little and pull your top up so I can see your stomach." she instructed as Caroline did as she was told.

Valerie took one of the pieces of salt and placed it on Caroline's stomach and began to chant for a moment. She stopped, picked up the salt, broke it in half and placed one part back on Caroline's stomach and the other half into the container full of Caroline's sample and began to quietly chant once more. The container hissed as the rock dissolved into the liquid and changed to pink while Caroline watched it in earnest.

Eventually Valerie stopped and smiled. "Congratulations, you're having a baby girl." she said. "Would you like me to do a scan?" she asked as Caroline nodded. "Byt first, when did you and Klaus first blood share?" Valerie asked.

Caroline thought for a minute. "Twelve days ago." she replied.

"So we are looking at you being up to fourteen human weeks." Valerie told her as she tucked paper tissue around Caroline's clothes before rubbing some gel onto her stomach. She picked up the probe and moved it along Caroline's skin methodically to find the baby. "There we go." Valerie pointed to a small shape on the screen.

"That's it?" Caroline asked, seemingly underwhelmed.

"It'll look very different at your next scan." Valerie told her.

"If the baby can't get ill or anything, why would she need another scan?" Elena asked.

"To determine whether the baby is human, vampire or werewolf." Valerie explained. "We've never had a case like hers before." she said, looking at Caroline. "How many copies of the scan do you want?" she asked.

"Three, I think. Oh my god." Caroline clapped her hand over her mouth and looked at them wide-eyed. "My mom is going to kill me when she finds out I'm pregnant." she said with genuine fear in her eyes.

"I think pregnancy is the last of your worries with your mom." Bonnie laughed.

"So when am I due?" Caroline asked.

Valerie went through her calendar to check her dates. "It looks like it is October twenty first." she said, handing some wipes over to Caroline, before logging information into her laptop. "I'll do Bonnie next and then Elena. I think I've just heard Cami arrive, which means we can do the transfer as soon as I've done the scan." she said.

"I want Damon with me when you do it." Elena insisted.

"That's fine." Valerie told her as Caroline got down from the bed and Valerie changed the paper underneath so it was clean for Bonnie.

Valerie repeated the process for Bonnie, but as she had only blood shared with Enzo for the first time less than forty eight hours earlier, the sample turned yellow, meaning she was still in her first trimester. Valerie then arrange to scan them both again in three weeks as they'd be able to get more information on dates and in Caroline's case, the nature of what she was carrying.

When it came to Elena's turn, Bonnie and Caroline left at Damon's insistence. He wanted to see everything first hand before Cami took over the pregnancy for a few days. This was when Valerie explained that the pregnancy would only continue at a normal human rate while Cami was carrying the child, therefore delaying the birth by roughly a week, meaning the estimated date was of all days, Halloween.

When they found out the baby was a girl, they knew the Petrova doppelganger would at some point in the future, reoccur. After they'd had the discussions about copies of the scan, Elena made herself look decent and Valerie requested Vincent and Cami to join them.

Elena was surprised to see Cami was a face she recognized from the club on the first night they'd been in New Orleans, which now seemed like a lifetime ago. Although they never interacted, Elena remembered a pretty blonde haired woman looking at her with a sad look on her face, while she danced with Damon. Now she understood why, however Cami herself was now completely oblivious to her affair with Damon. Instead she simply saw him as her boss.

Vincent entered with a large grimoire in his hand, followed by Bonnie, who closed the door behind them. He opened the book and quickly found the spell he was looking for. He rubbed his hands together before smiling at everyone.

"Okay, so, shall we begin?" he asked.

 


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

**Warning, this chapter contains explicit sexual content and blood sharing for those of the squeamish nature.**

"I need you to drink this." Valerie gave Elena a vial of blood. "It's Bonnie's." she explained. "It will tie you to the Bennett line in a more physical way while we do the spell." she told her as Elena grimaced before drinking it.

Damon smiled sadly. "This time tomorrow it will taste delicious to you." he lowered his eyes as Elena squeezed his hand.

"As long as we all come out of this okay, I'll do it." she assured him. "Do I want to be a vampire? No I don't, but I know that will change and I'm only putting it off for a few weeks. At least this way we'll have more reasons to think our baby is safe." she smiled turning to Valerie. "Right?" she asked.

"The pregnancy will be the same whether she is human or vampire." Valerie told them. "She will need blood to survive, but she will still experience food cravings just like a human would, among other symptoms. But she will be less vulnerable, plus she will have the added community protection which comes with a supernatural pregnancy." she added.

"Is there anything else we need?" Elena asked.

"A blood bag for the transition." Damon said, casting his eyes down. "I'll feed you my blood if you want, but it does risk you being sired to me, which is a pain in the ass. I think it would be a better idea if someone else was your sire."

"What does being sired to you mean?" Elena asked.

"It means I can tell you what to do and you would do it." Damon explained. "It can only happen to a human. Witches are impervious to sire-bonds, but although you are supernatural, you are also a regular human, which means a sire-bond is possible."

"So who else can turn me?" Elena asked.

"Klaus offered." Damon told her. "I've got some of his blood for you. It is as strong as it gets." she smiled.

"Do I have to drink it?" Elena grimaced.

"No." Valerie shook her head. "As we have got time for it to get into your bloodstream while we do the transference, we can inject the blood into you." she smiled. "But for the transference spell to work, you need to take Bonnie's blood orally." she said as she injected Klaus's blood into Elena.

Elena held the vial of blood up to her lips. "Bottoms up." she said, pinching her nose and quickly drinking the contents, trying not to gag at the taste. Immediately Damon passed her a glass of water, which she drank straight down to get rid of the taste.

"So what's next?" Damon asked.

"The spell normally requires a coven of witches." Valerie explained. "However, Vincent is the head of the witches in the French Quarter and can channel them, Bonnie can channel the Bennett witches. As long as I'm touching them, I can draw in their power to transfer the child to Cami." she said turning to Elena. "You ready?" she asked as Elena nodded her head.

Valerie clasped hands with both Vincent and Bonnie as the three of them lowered their heads and began to repeatedly chant in unison;

" _Sanguinem Filio Sanguinem Effugarex perpetuum, Phasmatos Filio Phasmatos Effugarex Perpetuum_."

After a few minutes they stopped and Valerie smiled. "All done." she said as she let go of Vincent and Bonnie's hands. "Now we need to check that the little one is safe and sound inside Cami." she said as Elena got up from the bed and was replaced by Cami.

Vincent and Bonnie left the room while Cami had the scan to reveal Damon and Elena's child inside her.

"Oh my god." Elena said in shock. "What now..." she started to turn to Damon, but all she saw were his hands and then suddenly everything went black.

The next thing Elena knew was she was lying on the bed in the room with only Damon sat next to her. His eyes rimmed red, clearly from crying. Suddenly Elena felt frightened that something had happened to Cami and the baby.

"Damon...what's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm sorry." he said sadly. "As your mate, I had to be the one to do it." Damon explained. "It wasn't Klaus's blood, it was mine. But the only way to combat the possibility of a sire-bond was for me to be the one to kill you. In order for that to happen, I had to lie to you. It is part of the ritual which only the vampires know about and are forbidden to discuss. You could say it is a mating code of conduct." he said sadly.

"You killed me?" Elena asked.

"It was the only way I could give you my blood." Damon explained. "I had to warn you about the sire-bond, it is my obligation. But so that you wouldn't know I was to be the one who was going to have to kill you, I lied about giving you my blood. That way you'd never expect me to do the dirty deed. Do you forgive me?" he asked.

"Of course." Elena smiled. "You did what was necessary. So now I need to feed, right?" she asked.

Damon nodded. "Did I hurt you?" he frowned.

Elena stroked his arm and shook her head. "I didn't feel a thing." she smiled. "What did you do, break my neck?" she asked as Damon nodded and handed her a blood bag.

"Here, this should do the trick to help you transition." he told her as Elena took the blood bag and sipped through the straw, grimacing at the coppery taste.

"I thought it would taste good." she frowned handing the blood bag back to Damon.

Damon laughed. "Give it a minute or so." he said as suddenly Elena felt more alive than she'd ever felt before. Suddenly she had an urge to try the blood once more, so she held her hand out for the bag, which Damon gave to her.

Elena began to suck through the straw once again, however this time it didn't taste coppery. It tasted like everything she'd ever loved to taste, except better. She could feel it nourishing her as power began to surge throughout her body, heightening her senses, making her feel invincible.

"Oh wow." Elena smiled. "I feel incredible." she said when suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her mouth. "Oww, my gums." she complained as she suddenly felt a tingling sensation around her eyes. "What's happening to me?" she panicked.

Damon smiled. "It only hurts the first time." he told her. "Come, look." he said as he offered her his hand and she stood up. He walked her over to a mirror where she was stunned at what she saw in front of her.

Elena's teeth had changed, she now had two small fangs which were extremely sharp. But the biggest shock was her eyes. The whites had turned a blood red and there were veins surrounding them, making her look fearsome. She looked at Damon's reflection as his also began to change, eventually matching hers.

"Will this happen every time I want to feed?" she asked.

"Depends if you want it to." Damon told her, as he stood behind her. "When feeding from humans, or when you need your fangs, then your eyes will change. Also they can change with your moods. Right now they are like that because you are scared. But things like anger, fear and most of all, being horny can trigger them. You just have to learn how to control it." he said, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Although I like them like that, so I don't mind you keeping them like that when we are alone and acting on our impulses." he smirked.

Strangely, Elena understood him. She didn't think they made her look good, but she found Damon extremely sexy with his eyes like they were. It was as if they were a calling card telling her he wanted to make love to her. Suddenly, the concept of making love took over Elena's every sense. She turned around and kissed him deeply, to which he responded in earnest. She pressed herself up against him, feeling the bulge in his jeans, telling her how much he wanted her.

The power of heightened emotions took over and Elena simply became a passenger. Damon lifted Elena up onto the edge of the bed, their lips still locked together, fangs clashing and biting, although Elena noticed instead of hurting, it just made her more horny. Elena unfastened Damon's belt and jeans, while Damon slid up Elena's skirt and his fingers stroked the outside of her panties.

Before Elena got the chance to free Damon's cock from the confines of his jeans, Damon had parted Elena's legs wide open and he was on his knees. He pushed her panties to one side, tracing his tongue and fangs up Elena's slit, causing her to shudder in ecstasy. Every nerve in her body seemed to be attached to her core, so when Damon's pressed his tongue inside her, she nearly screamed, only managing to contain herself by stuffing her fist in her mouth and subsequently biting her hand, drawing blood, to which the wound healed almost immediately.

Damon's thumb found Elena's core, while he continued to work her labia and insides with his tongue. By this point Elena was ready to come, but Damon had to perform his party piece as he removed his tongue and slid three fingers inside her. His tongue replaced his thumb on her nub and Elena threw her head back. Sex was not even remotely close to being this good as a human.

Inside her was a volcano of lava, building up and ready to erupt from inside her, when she suddenly felt Damon's fangs pierce her clit. What should have been painful as a human turned into the most intense and exquisite experience she'd ever known. Her orgasm came with such ferocity, it took her breath away, but there was something else in what Damon was doing, she just didn't understand it. She felt as though he was sending each convulsion to every nerve in her body. As a result, Elena began to shake almost violently, trying to hold in the scream of pleasure she desperately wanted to let loose as there were people in the next room with super hearing, meaning her and Damon had to be silent throughout.

As she came down from her high, Damon stood up, his jeans now around his ankles, revealing his very erect cock, ready for its invitation. Elena widened her legs and Damon wrapped an arm around her back while he silently and slowly pushed his length inside her, until he had penetrated as far as he could. They looked at each other, their faces still in their vampire form as they began to move their hips in unison.

To prevent themselves from moaning with pleasure, they initially began to kiss. However, Elena quickly noticed the bulging vein on Damon's neck, and she immediately became solely focused on it. Without warning, her instincts took over and her mouth made its way to the vein and her teeth pierced the delicate skin of his neck. Elena could feel the tiny amount of stubble which had grown since that morning, but she didn't care, because once her teeth pierced his vein, she had entered what felt like an alternate universe. One of sheer pleasure, however she was initially alone, until she felt a small prick on her own neck, and Damon joined her. At this point, Elena knew they were in each others heads, feeling one anothers pleasure. Able to see what the other saw, smell and taste what the other could taste. For Elena, she felt she was in heaven as everything which surrounded her was Damon. Nothing else mattered, just the two of them in their own private world together of pleasure. It was then Elena learned exactly how to control her emotions and her face, not that she wanted to as she realized it was heightening her desire.

The physical pleasure of another orgasm was growing for Elena. But she knew it wasn't just her own. She could feel how Damon's body felt to him. Therefore, their bodies moved more quickly, until Elena realized she had managed to turn their bodies around, and she was now on top of Damon, riding him. She had no idea how it happened, but she didn't care as they both needed to come, and quickly.

Damon's thumb reached for Elena's clit and he began to massage it. The tingling around her eyes became as extreme as the feeling throughout her core. Her insides were aching for release, and she knew Damon was holding back, making the experience doubly intense. Suddenly Elena's world fell apart as her body seemed to explode. Her insides were convulsing, milking Damon into his own release, which seemed to trigger another orgasm. They tightened their grip on each other, hard enough to kill a normal person. For that moment, they were one unit, one living, breathing entity, filled with the pleasure of sex, blood lust and most importantly and unwavering love, to which came with an unbreakable bond.

They eventually removed their mouths from each others necks and rested their foreheads together, both slightly breathless from the intensity of their lovemaking.

"I love you." Damon silently worded to Elena.

"I love you too." Elena whispered.

Damon pulled out of Elena and began to dress himself, while Elena made herself look decent once more before getting ready to leave, however Damon shook his head. He removed a little box from his pocket and got down on one knee. He opened the box to reveal a large diamond ring.

"Now we have completed the mating ritual. I would like to ask if you would be my wife." he said.

Elena slapped her hand over her mouth, unable to speak for joy, she simply nodded. Damon placed the ring on her finger and stood up as Elena wrapped her arms around Damon's neck, while he held her as tightly as he could.

"We'll have to wait until after the baby is born." Elena told him, finally pulling away. "I don't want to be pregnant in my wedding photo's, and Caroline and Bonnie would kill me if they were also both pregnant in them." she insisted as Damon smiled.

"A winter wedding it will be." he grinned. "We'll have to make sure Father Kieran is free to perform the ceremony."

"Father Kieran?" Elena frowned.

"Officially a catholic priest, but he is really a vampire who takes care of the vampire marriages in New Orleans. He is the only one licensed to do it." Damon explained. "He's Cami's uncle and only turned fifteen years ago. But he's now one of the most important members of the New Orleans vampire community." he said.

"I'm not going to ask anything further on that matter." Elena laughed.

"On a more serious note." Damon started. "If you look closely at the ring, there is an inlay of blue stones on the inside of the ring." he explained. "They are lapis lazuli. This ring is also a daylight ring. Klaus authorized it." he added.

"Thank you." Elena whispered. "It's beautiful." she frowned. "But it is too much."

Damon shook his head. "I am a very wealthy man. Nothing is too much for you." he smiled, to which Elena gave him a kiss.

"I think we should go and announce the good news." Elena grinned as Damon nodded in agreement.

When they finally returned to the lounge, they noticed Vincent, Cami, Valerie and Stefan had already left.

"About time." Klaus sighed. "Didn't think you were ever going to wake up. Or was it the learning how to control yourself a little...exhausting." he smirked.

Elena blushed, realizing Klaus had know exactly what they had been up to. So instead she decided to change the direction of the conversation. "Where is everyone?" she asked.

"Vincent has taken Cami to a safe house where neither Mikael or Katherine can find her." Caroline explained.

"Stefan is being tortured by Valerie." Enzo raised an eyebrow. "Which just leaves us." he grinned.

"What's next?" Elena asked. "Katherine thinks I'm going to be in transition. Not a full vampire." she said.

"Don't worry. We have that covered." Bonnie smiled. "We'll make you seem like you are in transition. Only the people who need to know who you are, will know who you are." she said. "Remember I told you about the tattoo?" she said as Elena nodded. "Well it will be more than just a cloaking tattoo." she said.

"My siblings, and everyone here, and involved, will each drink a vial of your blood, to ensure we know you are you and not Katherine." Klaus explained. "We are expecting Katherine to pose as you. We need you to start taking vervain today so that you are impervious to Mikael's compulsion, because he will try to compel you. If not, he will try and tempt you with human blood, thinking you are in transition. But we can deal with that."

"How do you know all of this?" Elena asked.

"Katherine called while you were unconscious." Damon told her. "I told them about the party and it has been agreed that will the the night to attack and for me to put you in transition that day." he said.

"Which means we need to get you prepared for every eventuality." Klaus explained. "Katherine thinks Davina is on their side, which means you'll have to work with her. She's a powerful witch and both she and Kol want Mikael dead as much as I do. Don't worry love, we will prepare you and protect you for every possible scenario, because I'm quite sure they won't be telling Davina the truth of their plans." he said.

"I can't believe they're going to ruin the party." Elena sighed.

"On the contrary." Klaus grinned. "This is going to be the greatest night ever. A celebration of the birth of my niece to my brother and his mate Hayley, who is now, thanks to Elena a hybrid." he smiled, bowing his head at Elena in gratitude. "Celebrating the pregnancy of my mate and two of my best friends also being due to become fathers a few days after me. And lastly, to finally get rid of my father and Katherine. A celebration of birth marriage and death. The cycle of life." he added as he lifted a glass of whiskey to his lips. "What better celebration is there?" he asked.

 


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

Elena completed her transition on the Thursday night. The party was due to take place on the Monday, which meant liaising with Katherine and Kol. Mikael was never around as Katherine was overly protective of him, plus Katherine had told them she was with Elijah, therefore bringing Mikael with her would have given the game away. Instead Elena and Damon met them in a grill on the outskirts of a town just outside New Orleans called Thibodaux. They all sat down in a booth and ordered various alcoholic drinks, except Davina, who had mineral water, because despite being informed alcohol wouldn't hurt a protected baby, she still had to act like she was in the middle of a normal pregnancy.

Before they met, Vincent and Bonnie had cast a spell on Elena to make her appear fully human to Katherine, Kol and Davina. Although Klaus had insisted Kol was on his side, Kol was a weasel who Damon not only disliked, but felt he couldn't be trusted. He didn't like Davina much either. He found her an annoying, arrogant child. However she was close to Marcel, Cami and Vincent, whom he did trust, therefore he had to go with their opinions. However, this didn't make Damon any less wary of what would be told to Mikael, which was why Elena was still pretending to be human. The spell was a fairly simple one, however it did mean Bonnie had to create a couple of other daylight trinkets to make sure Katherine didn't suspect anything.

Damon and Elena decided she was not to wear her engagement daylight ring as it was quite stunning and eye catching. So eye catching, Katherine would have probably not only asked questions, but she would have wanted a better look and could have spotted the lapis lazuli inside. Therefore Elena wore an ankle bracelet and a locket, which contained the tiny stone hidden behind a picture of her parents.

"Are you pregnant?" Katherine asked Elena almost as soon as she sat down.

"No!" Elena said truthfully. "Sheila called us after you left and told us how pregnancy occurred. Luckily we had managed to prevent it from happening." she told her.

"And since?" Katherine asked.

"It has been hard..." Elena started.

"Tell me about it." Damon complained, much to Kol's amusement, and earning them both a glare from their respective mates.

"I need Davina's help to prevent a pregnancy." Elena said. "We are struggling to resist the urge to procreate."

"What did you need to do?" Katherine asked, seemingly oblivious to the nature of how a doppelganger conceived with a vampire, other than the sex part.

"A simultaneous blood exchange during the fun time." Damon smiled. "We've had to...improvise." he shrugged.

"And how is that done?" Kol asked.

"We don't share at the same time." Elena explained. "It eases the urge slightly, but if we lose control, then it'll be too late. We need to find a way to quell the urge." she said.

"I think I can do something about that." Davina agreed.

This statement of agreement made by Davina was a ruse. Davina was going to be the one to make it easy to distinguish Elena from Katherine. Bonnie had found she wasn't experienced enough to cast the spell as she'd been using a lot of magic and it was making her feel unwell. Especially now she was pregnant. Overuse of magic was the only thing which could kill a witch and their baby who was pregnant with a vampire's child. This was why at this point, they decided all magic duties were to be split between Davina, Bonnie and Vincent.

In theory, Vincent could have been in charge of all of the magic, however he was being brought in on the night to be on standby should anything go wrong. That was why he had to conserve his powers, to make sure he wasn't overwhelmed. He was also cloaking Cami and Damon and Elena's baby at the same time, which meant he could only be used if desperate. Valerie was strong, but her magic wasn't always compatible with their needs. Also her magic strength would need to be at its peak in the coming months with four babies on the way, including Davina's. Birthing supernatural babies with one parent being a vampire, required the use of magic and modern medicine. This was why Valerie was the only one qualified to carry out the job. Therefore Valerie was too important at that time to risk exhausting her powers.

This was the reason the conversation with Davina was in code. The previous night, they'd made some requests, which Davina was looking into and had discussed using code to determine whether Davina was strong enough to perform the magic, because if not, they were going to need to find another witch who they could trust, to help them.

"The stake you gave us was a fake Kitty-Kat." Damon raised an eyebrow at Katherine.

"How did you find out?" Katherine asked.

"Klaus took it from Stefan and threw it into the the fire to test its authenticity." Damon smirked. "Safe to say it burned."

"How is Stefan?" Katherine asked, changing the subject.

"Currently being tortured I think." Damon shrugged. "I initially offered him in exchange for Caroline, but Klaus wasn't done with her. Klaus only took Stefan once he was convinced she had earned her ring and that I had made sure Stefan was no longer on vervain."

"He trusted you?" Katherine asked.

"I bit Stefan myself." Damon grinned. "My newfound tolerance to the stuff meant I was able to act as though he was clean. So when do we get the stake?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Don't worry, you'll get the stake." Katherine smiled.

"When?" Damon demanded.

"Elijah will give it to you on the night after he has finished with it." she replied.

"I thought we were only killing Klaus." Elena said, remembering Katherine didn't know Damon and Elena knew she was mated to Mikael, not Elijah. This meant she had to keep up the pretense of believing the story Katherine fed them back in Mystic Falls, because otherwise she'd know they'd spoken to either Klaus or Elijah. "What else would he need it for?" she asked.

"It is just a little bit of insurance to make sure nobody betrays us." Katherine told her. "You see, to make sure none of the other Original family can be held responsible for any backlash it might cause in New Orleans, they need to be daggered." she explained.

"Daggered?" Elena frowned, feigning ignorance.

"Special daggers that put an Original to sleep." Damon explained.

"And who is going to do the deed?" Elena asked.

"Only an Original sibling, or a human can dagger an Original." Katherine explained. "This is where you come in." she said.

Damon turned to Kol."Are you going to just let Elena dagger you? You trust Elijah to remove them afterwards?" he asked, his face now filled with fear as he knew that if the actually did dagger and Original, she would die herself as she was now a vampire.

"To be honest, I don't care about New Orleans." Kol shrugged. "The only reason we're going there is for Davina to have the baby. There is a special Doctor there who specializes in supernatural pregnancies. So it is best for me to not have to deal with any backlash, which Elijah knows." he agreed.

"And Rebekah has also agreed to allow Elena to dagger her without a fight?" Damon raised an eyebrow.

"She and Marcel are going to be running New Orleans after Klaus has been taken down. She wants to make sure her hands are clean." Katherine smiled.

"Do you really think Marcel would allow Rebekah to be daggered?" Damon asked. "Klaus won't buy it."

"Don't worry. We have a witch who can temporarily take him down. First he'll have a headache, then he'll be injected with vervain. Klaus doesn't know he can withstand vervain." she smiled.

"And Elijah?" Damon asked. "His hands will be dirty."

"Elijah and I will be moving to the south of France, so we don't really care what New Orleans thinks. We'll be gone by then." she smiled.

"So how do you give Elena the stake and daggers?" Damon asked.

Katherine held up a bag with what looked like designer clothes in it. "I need you to wear this." Katherine told her. "You hide in Damon's office. I'll make the grand entrance with Damon and pretend to be you. At some point I will sneak into Damon's office and we swap over. At no point can Elijah be seen as he would draw too much attention." she said. "I will give you the instructions in the office." she added. Elena nodded.

"So what time will this go down?" Elena asked.

"When is Klaus making the grand entrance?" Katherine replied.

"Eight." Damon told her.

"I'll be at yours for seven thirty." Katherine told them. "Be in the office by then." she told Elena. "I'll only hand the stake and daggers over when the time is right." she said.

"That's fine with me." Damon smiled as an idea popped into his head. "I think we need to leave." he said. "I've got a party to plan, and we've got an Original to kill." he added as he and Elena got up to leave.

"I'll know if you're double crossing me." Katherine told them. "I have spies all around me." she smiled.

"Don't worry. We won't." Damon nodded as he and Elena left to get into Damon's truck.

Elena started to speak, but Damon shook his head and signaled his ear. Once inside the truck, Damon turned on some random radio station which was playing eighties pop music, until it was loud enough to distort them.

"We can't let anyone hear us." he said, starting the engine up and driving off. "I wouldn't be surprised if we were being followed right now." he told her.

As a result, Elena remained silent for a few miles until they were happy they weren't being followed.

"How are we going to kill Mikael if he's not even there?" Elena asked.

"Easy." Damon grinned. "We don't need to. We just need to kill Katherine. Mikael will want the stake for himself." he said.

"And what about using the daggers as a ruse?" Elena asked.

Damon thought for a moment. "I'm hoping we don't have to get that far." he said. "My idea is kill Katherine, which will draw Mikael out. Kol and Rebekah need to be daggered. We keep Elijah hidden in the office with you, which means he can kill Katherine. I guess Elijah can dagger Kol and Rebekah. You can use the stake on Klaus, as it won't work. It'll just act like a normal piece of wood. Mikael, on the other hand, will try and stop you as his desire to die will be too strong to care about anything else. Killing Klaus will be secondary. If he thinks you are about to kill Klaus, he'll take the stake for himself." he said.

"But Mikael might try to kill Klaus first." Elena frowned. "We need to make him think Klaus has actually died."

"I'll talk it over with Klaus. Maybe he can help. Although I think another fake stake and a bit of magic should do the trick." Damon smirked. "Let's go home, so we can talk this over with Klaus before I let you know how beautiful I think you are." he said as they drove back to his house in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

First of all, finding an American white oak stake wasn't hard. It was common in hardware stores. To get it right, they needed a picture of it. Klaus knew exactly how it looked, which was nothing like the piece of wood Elijah had thrown into the fire, who at the time clearly knew it wasn't the right stake. Klaus (who it turned out, was an excellent artist), had once upon a time, sketched the stake as he'd put a bounty on it.

The stake itself was a finely carved piece of wood, with intricate patterns, and a smoothly rounded end, as opposed to just being chopped. Whoever had originally whittled the stake was clearly a highly skilled carpenter. Fortunately, Klaus's artistic skills were not only confined to his work on paper and canvas. Over the centuries, he'd meddled in sculpture and woodwork, meaning he had very little problem reproducing an exact replica of the original stake. This was destined to be their secret weapon against Mikael and Katherine.

Deciding they couldn't trust Davina and not wanting to alert any of the New Orleans witches to their plans, this left them with only one other witch available to them who they could trust to help them, and that was Sheila Bennett. Bonnie knew her Grams would ensure the safety of her great-grandchild, regardless of who the father was, and Klaus would also ensure the safety of the baby. Therefore Sheila flew to New Orleans under the premise of being a party guest due to being related to Bonnie.

The stake was to be spelled so if Elena ran it into Klaus's chest, he would appear to desiccate and the stake would catch fire. According to Klaus, this is what would happen if a white oak stake really did kill an Original. Also, although Davina had cast a spell onto Elena, as a backup, Elena would wear her daylight ring. However if any other vampire tried it on, they would be taken down with a magical aneurysm. They hoped the daylight ring would catch Katherine's eye sufficiently for her to try it on. Taking down Katherine, albeit temporarily, would give them enough time to kill her.

By Monday morning, everything was in place. The stake was complete and spelled, Elena had her cloaking spells. Cami was out of harms way. Elijah and Stefan were hiding in the club in Damon's room of conquests (Enzo told Elena that it was what Damon used to call it). The invites had been sent out, everything was ready to take down Katherine and Mikael. As far as they were concerned, they had every base covered. What could possibly go wrong?

 


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

An hour before they were due to attend the party, Elena, dressed in the clothes Katherine had provided, with her invisible tattoo, courtesy of Davina, and the white oak stake, left to hide out in Damon's office. She had no idea how long she was going to be there, but she just hoped it would be no longer than a couple of hours. At least she knew she would have Elijah to keep her company, even if they did have to be as quiet as they could.

Just before Elena left, she kissed Damon, just as a call came through from Josh, presumably to let them know everything was in place for them to go. So Elena left and went to the club and into the back office. Surprisingly, nobody was there at that point. She expected at least Thierry to be there, but the place was almost like a morgue.

When Elena entered the office, she expected to find Elijah already there, but for some reason it was empty. He was expected to turn up before her, and according to Klaus, Elijah was honorable, noble, but above all, punctual. It was at this point, Elena began to worry. She looked down at the fake stake and hid it in Damon's desk, hoping above all, Elijah would soon appear, because right now, she would either have to take on a five hundred year old vampire alone, or dagger five originals before she died. And right then, neither option sounded particularly appealing.

Just as Elena was leaving, Damon's phone began to ring and Josh's name lit up on his screen. Elena kissed him on the cheek, and left to meet Elijah, in his office in the club. Only a few minutes earlier Elijah had confirmed he was on his way into the building, therefore Damon was happy to let Elena go and meet him.

"What!" Damon snapped as he answered the phone, annoyed Josh had picked that particular moment to call when instead of having a quick peck on the cheek, Damon and Elena could have spent another few minutes locked together in each others arms, kissing. However the call meant it wasn't to be.

"Aiden just called." Josh told him.

"Who's Aiden?" Damon asked, knowing he should know, but he hadn't been overly concerned with Josh's life, so anything the young vampire said usually went over his head.

"He's...he's my bbb...boyfriend, and mate." Josh replied.

"So what do you think I am? Marriage guidance counseling?" Damon snapped. "You're mates, you won't break up." he shook his head, about to hang up.

"It's not that." Josh said. "I need to tell someone, even though Aiden swore me to secrecy." This was an unusual situation as Josh was potentially going against his mate, meaning that he thought his mate's actions would put him in danger. However, this was of little consequence to Damon, as long as Josh actually turned up for work, as he might be needed for what was going to go down later that evening. Therefore Damon decided to find out what he was sniveling about.

"Go ahead, purge." Damon sighed.

"Aiden is part of the crescent wolves." Josh explained. "He told me to stay away from the club tonight, as apparently something is going down."

"It's not a full moon." Damon shrugged. "No need to worry."

"But most of the hybrids are from the crescent pack. They can change at will, they don't need a full moon." Josh told him.

"I know hybrids don't need a full moon." Damon frowned. "Why are they going to the club?" he asked. "They weren't invited."

"Apparently Elena invited them." Josh said. "She asked if they wanted revenge on Klaus for enslaving them over the last two centuries and to prevent the rest of the pack being turned because Klaus wanted to use her for her blood and to create more hybrids."

"So all of the hybrids are going to the party tonight to take down Klaus?" Damon raised an eyebrow. "And what do they plan to use to do that?" he asked.

"Elena gave them a fancy stake and some daggers with a small bottle of ash, or whatever." Josh explained. "Apparently the stake can be used to kill him."

"Werewolves can kill Klaus?" Damon frowned. "I didn't know that." he said.

"Elena said her friend contacted the spirits to see who could kill him with it and it was either her, another Original or a werewolf. She said she couldn't as she was a human and not fast enough, and his siblings would never do it."

"Klaus would recognize a hybrid and have them dead from a mile away. Well what's left of them." he said.

"There are a few still around." Josh said. "Enough to cause problems with their bites. But werewolves, are stronger than humans, even when not turned. They might stand a chance of killing him if they take him by surprise."

"Does Aiden want to kill Klaus?" Damon asked.

"He's doing it because he's part of the pack. He doesn't think it is worth the risk." Josh told him.

"Do you know any other members of the pack?" Damon asked.

"Only Aiden's little brother. But he hasn't turned yet." Josh admitted.

"Did Elena say anything else?" Damon narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, she said there would be another woman there who looked like her. And the way to know the difference between them would be she was wearing a tattoo of a heart on her shoulder." Josh told him.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Damon scowled, knowing that was the invisible tattoo Elena was sporting. "Kol, you little weasel." he said to himself as he heard a knock at the door.

"What do you want me to do boss?" Josh asked.

Damon thought for a moment. "Just let everyone in who has an invite." Damon told him. "I've gotta go. There's someone at the door." he added as he hung up, expecting Katherine.

To his surprise, the person on the other side was a woman he'd never met before, although he had seen her face many times, he couldn't quite place where he knew her from. She was beautiful, but he could feel an arrogant sassiness oozing through every pore of her body, which would have been an immediate turn off, even before he was mated with Elena.

"Hi, I'm Hayley." she introduced herself, holding her hand out. "Elijah's mate." she added i Damon's confusion.

"Oh, right, come in." Damon frowned. "Isn't Elijah with Elena right now?" he asked.

Hayley shook her head. "One of the hybrids bit him." she told him. "Klaus can't do anything as it would alert people to who we are. But he'll survive, he's just off color right now." she shrugged.

"But Elijah is supposed to be helping Elena." Damon frowned. "She can't kill either Katherine or Mikael on her own." he started to panic. "And you might be a hybrid, but Katherine would be able to overwhelm you both. Plus you wouldn't know who was Katherine and who was Elena." he started to pace.

"I know." Hayley agreed. "The crescent wolves are pissed because I turned. They want retribution."

"I thought it was because the hybrids were turned against their will?" Damon frowned.

"There's that too." Hayley nodded. "But I was their alpha and I abandoned them to be with a vampire. They're not happy at all. Especially as Klaus allowed me to be turned."

"Josh told me that the wolves are up to something." Damon told her.

"They want to kill Klaus." Hayley said.

"I got that part." Damon rolled his eyes. "Do you know who has the stake?" he asked.

Hayley shook her head. "They won't tell me." she said. "It will be someone on the inside. It might not even be a wolf."

"I need to get Elena out of there." Damon shook his head as he was about to get his phone to call Elena.

"No!" Hayley stopped him. "You go to Elena now, all of us are dead, including Elena. Katherine can't know you know." she said.

"So what's the plan?" Damon asked.

"I'll stay with Elena." Hayley told him. "Katherine can't kill Elena yet because she thinks Elena is in transition. Katherine doesn't know me, I'll pretend to be a member of staff looking for you."

"Elena and Katherine will look the same." Damon warned her.

Hayley walked up to him and sniffed him, before taking in a deep breath. "She has a very distinctive scent. I'm a wolf first and vampire second. My sense of smell is a hundred times more sensitive than yours. I could spot her with my eyes closed." she smiled. "Katherine doesn't know me. Between us we can take Katherine and Mikael down." she smiled.

"I like your optimism Hayley." Damon sighed. "But I don't share it. It needs an Original or a Petrova human to kill Mikael. You are neither. Nobody knows who has the stake."

"Do you have CCTV in the club?" Hayley folded her arms.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Of course."

"And the access is in the office?" she asked as Damon simply nodded. "Good." she smiled. "I can point out all of the wolves from the pack."

"And that will help me how?" Damon asked.

"You and Elena have a mate connection..." Hayley started.

"We're not Originals." Damon shook his head. "We don't have that ability to share unless under certain circumstances."

"Do you have a cellphone?" Hayley raised an eyebrow.

"Duh!" Damon rolled his eyes.

"We'll take pictures of the wolves." Hayley said.

"And then what?" Damon asked.

"Take them down one by one." Hayley said. "They're the ones with the daggers."

"I thought the plan was for Elena to dagger the rest of the siblings." Damon frowned.

"It was, but the wolves offered to do it as they could take them down more quickly as a pack. I guess Katherine doesn't fully trust you." she shrugged.

"She said she had spies." Damon frowned.

"Kol and Davina would be my guess." Hayley offered. "Although I don't think he's fully on her side. He's playing both sides and waiting to find out who wins. He's making sure he does everything both sides ask without betraying the other."

"Klaus won't be happy." Damon frowned.

"That's Klaus's problem, not yours or mine." Hayley said. "It's our job to stop the wolves." she said.

"No offense, but I want proof you are on our team." Damon sighed.

"Fine, here." she held out her phone and began to play a video from Elijah telling them he'd been bitten by a hybrid, and was delirious, meaning he wouldn't be of any help to them.

"Oh boy." Damon ran his fingers through his hair. "There are too many plans. This is going to get messy and somebody is going to end up dead." he sighed. "Fine. The entrance to my office is through that door." Damon told her. "She Elena that video. I'll text her to let her know you are coming." he said.

"Thank you." Hayley smiled as she left through the door to the club office.

Damon walked over to the wet bar and poured himself a glass of bourbon. "We're screwed." he said to himself as the doorbell rang.

Elena was sat alone in the office wondering what had happened to Elijah. Without him she was more than a little scared to say the least. She knew she had no chance taking on Katherine by herself, and if she was forced into using the daggers, she would die. So when she heard footsteps coming from Damon's house to the office, hope lifted her spirits. That was until the door opened and instead of Elijah being there, a young woman who Elena had never seen before emerged.

"So you're the doppelganger." the woman raised an eyebrow. "I'm Hayley. Elijah's mate." Hayley said.

"And how can I know you are telling the truth?" Elena asked.

"I guess you'll just have to trust the fact that I wouldn't be down here unless Damon let me come down." Hayley told her. "Plus Elijah videoed this on my phone." she showed Elena the recording of Elijah explaining he'd been bitten. "By the way, thanks for the blood. I owe you one." she smiled coyly.

"So what is the plan?" Elena asked. "It seems it is changing every five minutes."

"When you're working against Katherine and Mikael, you have to be a little fluid with your plans." Hayley agreed. "They will deceive you at every twist and turn. They don't want you to survive this as Katherine wants to be the sole Petrova doppelganger." she told her.

Elena frowned. "How do you know?" she asked.

"Elijah told me all about her." Hayley explained. "She's the vainest creature on the planet. You are direct competition to her, and she won't tolerate that. So don't be fooled. She wants you dead as much as she wants Klaus dead."

"How much do you know?" Elena asked.

"Katherine gave the daggers to the wolves, who will take the Originals down." Hayley told her. "I suggest you leave Kol down, maybe put Davina into a supernatural prison until she's had her baby."

"They betrayed us?" Elena asked wide eyed.

"Yeah." Hayley nodded. "Katherine has the same tattoo as you. Only Damon and Klaus, if he's been paying any attention to you, will be able to tell the difference between you and Katherine because he can sense it. I can smell the difference as I'm also a werewolf and my sense of smell is greater than a normal werewolf or vampire." she explained as they suddenly heard music coming from next door. "Looks like the party is about to start." she said.

Katherine arrived at the house about ten minutes before Klaus, Caroline and his siblings, plus their respective partners. If it weren't for the instincts of Elena being his mate, he wouldn't have known she wasn't Elena. Her hair and make-up were identical, which surprised Damon as he knew Elena hadn't discussed that part with Katherine. In fact her jewelry was also the same, something that didn't go unnoticed. Katherine hadn't provided any jewelry in Elena's outfit. Only the dress and shoes. The only thing Damon could put it down to was some witchy interference. Something was connecting Katherine to Elena, other than them being Petrova doppelgangers, and Damon had a feeling if they didn't find out what it was, the entirety of New Orleans would suffer the consequences.

They all left through the front door and entered the club through the main gates, making the desired entrance. The music had been blasting out for about half an hour and the club was already full of guests, making sure they didn't miss out on anything important which could allow them to curry favor with Klaus, Marcel, Rebekah or Damon. Nobody took much notice of Kol as he didn't live in New Orleans.

Damon led them to the owners tables where they had their own private bar. Drinks were quickly served while they watched down at the party-goers. Suddenly Damon felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He knew it was a text from Elena, but Katherine had glued herself to Damon, meaning he couldn't look at the photo's of the wolves on his phone. Fortunately Klaus chose that moment to make an observation of one of the guests.

"Who the fuck invited a hybrid?" he growled.

"Nobody." Damon shook his head. "They can't get in unless Josh lets them in, and he'd never let anyone in uninvited." he said.

"So why are they here?" Klaus asked.

"I'll go find Josh." Damon sighed getting up, hoping he would get a minute to check out his phone.

"Marcel, Rebekah, you are both familiar with my hybrids, go mingle and rip the hearts out of any that you see." Klaus snarled.

"With pleasure." Rebekah smiled as she and Marcel got up and headed towards the dance-floor.

Damon headed back towards the main gate where he heard a man crying out in pain. He vamp-sped to the gate only to find Josh on the floor, a stake through his heart. Knelt beside him was a dark haired young man crying desperate tears, brushing Josh's face, which had turned gray and full of veins, a sure sign that he was dead. The young man, whom Damon assumed was his mate Aiden, looked up at him.

"I need to die." he wept. "I need to find peace with him. But first I need to get revenge on the one who did this." he said.

"Who did it?" Damon frowned, although he had a guess.

"Your mate." Aiden spat. "She came round earlier to talk to Josh with her friend."

"Her friend?" Damon frowned.

"Yeah, the old guy. Said he was your dad and they needed to talk about the invites." Aiden explained. "Told him Klaus wanted him to look out for werewolves. As if we would do anything. We've got no powers unless it's a full moon."

"What about the hybrids?" Damon asked.

"What about them?" Aiden sniffed. "Why should I care? All I care about is being with Josh, and making sure your mate goes down with me." he stood up.

"That wasn't my mate, that was her doppelganger Katherine." Damon told him. "My father died in eighteen sixty four, so the man she was with must have been...Mikael." Damon frowned.

"He said his name was Michael." Aiden nodded.

"Do you think he compelled Josh before you got there?" Damon asked.

"He could have." Aiden nodded.

"Were are the wolves?" Damon gently grabbed hold of Aiden.

"Out in the Bayou as far as I know." Aiden shrugged.

"Look, I'll do a deal with you." Damon offered. "You help me, and I'll rip your heart out or snap your neck when we're done." he suggested. "Whichever way you prefer."

Aiden thought for a minute. "Okay." he sniffed. "What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"Go inside and check to see if there are any crescent wolves in there or any hybrids you might know of." Damon instructed.

Aiden nodded and went inside to do as he was told. When he returned five minutes later he was out of breath.

"It's chaos in there." Aiden panted. "No wolves, but there are hybrids. There are people dying in there." his face was panicked. "Can you kill me now by pulling my heart out?" he asked.

Damon walked over to him and placed his hand on Aiden's should and nodded. "Of course I'll keep my word." he said as he swiftly grabbed hold of Aiden's head and twisted it until his neck snapped, killing the werewolf instantly. He straightened his jacket, closed the gates, locking them to make sure nobody else got in before looking down at the body. "Sorry it wasn't your heart, but I didn't want to get this jacket dirty." he shrugged as he walked back inside the club.

Aiden wasn't wrong when he had told Damon it was chaos inside. Damon had only been gone little over five minutes and carnage had taken place. Dead bodies of vampires everywhere. They'd either been staked or had their hearts ripped out. Rebekah was lying on the floor, daggered, by presumably a hybrid. Marcel had a bite wound in his neck, as did a number of other vampires who were still alive.

Damon ran up to the mezzanine where the party were sat and found Klaus with a burning stake in his chest, and Caroline crying her eyes out. Enzo, who was being held by a tearful Bonnie, also had a bite wound on his neck. He looked down and saw the dead bodies of Grams and Theirry. Damon scoured the room for Kol and Davina, but they were nowhere to be found.

"Which stake is it?" Damon cried.

"I don't know." Caroline shook her head.

"Who staked him?" he asked.

"Elena, or Katherine. I don't know which one." Caroline sobbed.

Damon turned to Bonnie. "You okay?" her asked.

Bonnie nodded. "Grams." her lips trembled as tears began to flow from her eyes.

Deciding they needed to find out which stake they were dealing with, Damon pulled the one from Klaus, which immediately stopped burning. A few seconds later, Klaus's color began to return to his face, and he eventually sat up.

"What happened?" Damon asked.

"They came at us from all angles." Klaus shook his head. "There were hybrids I didn't even recognize. They weren't any that I turned." he frowned.

"How can they turn?" Damon asked.

"First they need my blood. Then they have to be killed and then fed the blood of the doppelganger." Klaus told him. "How would they have gotten all of those ingredients?" he asked.

"Do you keep any of your blood ready for bite emergencies?" Damon asked.

"Since Caroline arrived I have, yes." Klaus nodded. "But where did they get the doppelganger blood from?" he frowned.

"From Elijah." Damon closed his eyes. "He'd been bitten by a hybrid. But Hayley is also a hybrid." he said as he began to worry for Elena's safety. "Can hybrids be compelled?" he asked.

"Never needed to, but they're vampires so there's no reason why not." Klaus replied.

Damon looked around. "Where's Katherine?" he asked.

"She went back to the office." Caroline told him.

"Fuck! If Hayley is compelled, then that means she's working for Mikael and Katherine." Damon shouted as he ran to the office.

Damon opened the door with force, followed by Klaus and Caroline only to find the office empty. Damon began to look around in panic, however Klaus called him over.

"Look at this." Klaus said as he handed Damon a note which Damon read.

_Dear Damon,_

_I told you I had spies everywhere and I warned you not to double cross me. Therefore, as you ignored my warning, I took Elena. You'll be hearing from me soon._

_Katherine_

"You bitch!" Damon screamed as his whole world seemed to crash down upon him.

 


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

Ten minutes earlier.

Elena was pacing the office trying to work out what was going on and how the hell Hayley could help. They were both new vampires, neither of them had the power to overcome a five hundred year old. Elena didn't want to vent her feelings but the butterflies were in her stomach.

"Where's the fake stake?" Hayley asked.

"It's in that drawer over there." Elena frowned as Hayley rushed over and pulled the stake out.

"We need you to do what Katherine asks." Hayley told Elena as she walked over to her and lifted Elena's dress.

"What the hell are you doing?" Elena asked.

"I'm saving Klaus's life." Hayley whispered. "Katherine thinks Mikael compelled me because hybrids can be compelled." she explained. "But he didn't realize that being Elijah's mate makes me immune to compulsion, just like the rest of the Originals. So I played along." she smiled. "He compelled me to do exactly what Katherine said. So when she asked, for the remainder of the doppelganger blood, which I didn't use for the transition, I gave it to her, and it looks like she's been creating more hybrids. Can't save the vamps in there." she shrugged. "But on the plus side, it means Klaus won't ever consider making any more in future, which will protect the wolves." she said as took out what looked like a black lace garter from her back pocket.

Hayley bent down and nodded for Elena to step into it. Although she was confused by Hayley's actions, she did as she was told while Hayley pulled it up to her thigh. She picked up the stake and slid it inside a holster, fitted into the garter. Elena looked down at it, impressed by how it managed to conceal the stake, even when the little black dress was lowered. Fortunately, the dress was loose enough for the stake not to be noticed.

"What next?" Elena asked.

"Katherine will want you to stake Klaus." Hayley told her. "Do as she says. Take the real stake and put it somewhere safe. Stake Klaus with the fake stake. Katherine won't know which stake you have used. Then come back and swap over with Katherine, who will want to make sure everyone who needs to be dead, is dead." she said.

"What then?" Elena asked.

"We kill Katherine with the real stake." she smiled.

"Why do you want them dead so much?" Elena asked.

"Mikael is a monster." Hayley told her. "If he is allowed to get his hands on New Orleans, then the vampires, the witches and werewolves are all doomed. I might be a hybrid, but I will still protect the rights of my people."

"And Klaus?" Elena raised an eyebrow. "He's created hybrids. He's not exactly pro werewolf."

"He's learned his lesson with the hybrids. He won't do it again." she sighed as they both heard a noise outside.

The door opened and Katherine appeared, looking exactly like Elena. She narrowed her eyes and walked over to Hayley, looked her up and down before snapping her neck.

"Can't have intruders, now can we." Katherine smiled as she took off her jacket, revealing the real white oak stake strapped to her arm. She removed the stake and took off the strap. "Here." she instructed as Elena held out her arm as Katherine fitted the strap, before putting the stake back and handing over the jacket. "Need to have you smelling the same as me." she told Elena. "Klaus will know a mile away that we are two different people if you wore a different jacket. Our faces look the same, but to a hybrid, we would smell different, even with the same perfume." she added as she opened a fake bookshelf behind Damon's desk, filled with a number of small screens which had images of the different parts of the club. Katherine sat on Damon's chair and began to watch the small screens in front of her. "Now go find Klaus. He's on the mezzanine with the rest of the gang." she pointed out to the camera facing the seating area for Damon and his guests. "I want you to stake him and come straight back here to me. You won't be safe out there." she said. "And Damon even less safe if I you don't come back." she added pointing to an image of Damon standing up.

Threatening Damon was enough of a motivation for Elena to do as she was told. "Fine, I'll come back. Just don't hurt Damon." Elena sighed as she headed towards the door.

"Oh and don't try anything stupid. Big brother is watching, and Damon is vulnerable." Katherine grinned as Elena left the room to find Klaus.

Once she reached the mezzanine she looked around for Damon, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Damon?" Elena asked.

"He's gone to find Josh, remember?" Kol replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh." Elena tried to regain her composure. "I just thought he'd be back by now." she said, looking around nervously, wondering how she was going to find a way to take the stake out of her lace holster without Katherine, Kol or Klaus noticing. When she suddenly had an idea.

Elena pressed the heel of one of her shoes into the ground and broke it, causing her to wobble. She bent down to removed her shoe, however she took also removed the fake stake from it's holster. She also pulled the real one out from her jacket and placed it under what she knew to be Damon's chair which was right next to where Klaus was sat. Once done, she she stood back up, she rammed the stake into Klaus's chest. Initially he looked shocked then his face began to change, it turned gray and veins stood out before the stake set on fire.

That seemed to trigger mass chaos in the club. There were screams from the dance floor below, not to mention Caroline. Sheila got up to give Elena an aneurysm, however Kol was too fast and snapped her neck. Elena screamed before fleeing the scene, and headed back to the office as quickly as she could, trying to avoid the carnage going off all around her. Hybrids were attacking vampires, biting them, injecting them with their lethal poison. Other vampires were being staked. Elena noticed Rebekah lying on the floor with a dagger in her chest, looking for all intents and purposes dead, although Elena knew she wasn't. Next to her, Marcel lay unconscious. He'd presumably had his neck snapped, but more importantly was the gaping bite wound on his neck from a hybrid attack. Elena took it all in as she sped past, hoping she could get to the office as quickly as possible to save Damon from the same fate.

Once inside she saw not only Katherine, but Hayley had quickly recovered from her neck snap, which for some reason made Elena feel uncomfortable. Katherine vamp-sped over to Elena and grabbed her tight from behind, meaning Elena couldn't move.

"What are you doing?" Elena spluttered.

"Hayley?" Katherine smiled, ignoring Elena's question, as Hayley approached. "Bite her?" she commanded.

"No!" Elena cried out as Hayley bit Elena on the neck. "Why?"

"I told you I wanted you in transition." Katherine whispered into Elena's ear. "But my spies tell me you've already turned. If that is true, then how come you are still alive? Unless of course that wasn't the real white oak you used. This is my insurance to make sure your friends come to get you." she whispered, turning to Hayley.

"Hayley? Why?" Elena pleaded.

"I don't want anymore little Petrova doppelgangers being produced. Taking you out now is the only way I can make sure that is the case." Hayley replied. "Petrova doppelgangers seem to have a way of beating the system when it comes to mythology. Knowing my luck, you and Damon will be able to have a baby even though you are a vampire." she said.

"Did you make sure the camera caught all of it?" Katherine asked Hayley.

"I did." Hayley smiled.

"Turn all of the other screens off and leave just the one from the office." Katherine demanded as Hayley did as she was told. "Good, now with that done, I guess I'll leave a note. I don't have time to text him about the video yet, it would alert him to come too soon." Katherine sighed. "Get me a pen and paper." she instructed as Hayley opened one of the desk drawers. "I can't hold you and write at the same time." she told Elena. "I guess before we let Damon know the other part of the message, now is as good as any time for a little nap." she said as Elena felt a sharp pain in her neck, then suddenly everything went dark.

Damon searched the office for clues as to what could have happened to Elena. The note didn't tell him much, just that Katherine had her. What Hayley's role in all of this was, he wasn't sure, had she double crossed him? Was she working with Katherine or was she double crossing Katherine? Klaus had gone back to help Enzo, Marcel and Rebekah, leaving Caroline to help him look through clues in the office.

"Do you only have CCTV camera's in your office?" Caroline asked. "And do you ever leave them paused?" she cocked her head and staring at one of the small screens, from where Katherine had left the fake bookshelf open to make it obvious they'd been looking at it.

"No I don't." Damon frowned as he rushed over to his desk where the CCTV screens were. There he found one screen left paused at a point where there were three blurry figures. "And I don't think it's a coincidence that there are only three people on the camera. Katherine intentionally left this to show us something, but what she probably doesn't know is the office camera was the only one to have audio recording." he smiled slyly.

"Why does it have audio?" Caroline asked.

"Because my lip reading skills are fucking terrible." Damon shrugged. "At least we'll know what was said and if it can give us a clue to where they might have taken Elena." he sighed, sitting down in front of the screens and pressing the buttons to watch what had happened since Elena had left Damon's house and met with Hayley.

Whiles they were watching, Klaus returned with Vincent, who was covered in blood.

"What the fuck happened to you? And where the fuck were you? Elena is missing!" Damon cried, annoyed as Vincent had been conserving his powers for the night to make sure nothing happened to Elena.

"I know, I'm sorry." Vincent apologized. "I was knocked out from behind. Would probably have been dead if Klaus hadn't have found me." he told them.

"Have you found anything yet?" Klaus asked.

"Just going through the tape of what happened in the office." Damon told them. "See if there's any clues to where they may have taken Elena." he said, just as Bonnie, Enzo and a very alive looking Sheila entered the room. Damon frowned. "I thought you were dead."

"Just a little protection spell to appear dead that's all." Sheila smiled. "Had to make a little visit to the other side to see what was goin' on with your girl. You don't need to watch all of that." she pointed to the screen. "I saw what happened and heard the conversation after Elena stabbed Klaus."

"Did you know?" Damon asked Bonnie and Enzo as they both shook their heads.

"These things only work when nobody knows." Sheila told him.

"And?" Damon asked. "What did you find out?"

"The interesting part of the conversation was after they turned the CCTV off." Sheila told him. "But first of all..." she turned to Klaus. "Why does everyone think you need the blood of the doppelganger to create hybrids?" she asked.

Klaus took a deep breath. "I gave that story out to try and draw Katerina and Mikael out of hiding." he explained.

"So much that even your own brother didn't know?" Sheila raised an eyebrow.

"It was the best way." Klaus sighed.

"Well, not only did Katherine take Elena, but she took Hayley too." Sheila told them.

Klaus stood up and began to pace. "Where?" he asked.

"We need to do a locator spell." Sheila told him. "I wok up before I could find out. But they were heading north." she said.

"Well that narrows it down." Enzo shook his head.

"She's a vampire so we need human blood to do the locator spell." Vincent frowned. "A living relative of Elena's."

Everyone turned to look at Bonnie.

"Fine I'll talk to Jeremy." she rolled her eyes.

"We're gonna need to be quick about it." Sheila told them. "Hayley bit her."

Damon stood up and walked over to Sheila. "She did what?" he asked, his jaw twitching with anger.

"Judging by the size of the bite, I'd give her two days." Sheila told them.

Klaus took his phone out of his pocket. "I'll organize for my private jet to be readied within the hour." he told them.

"You can't!" Damon told him. "Katherine and Mikael have to think you are dead. We need to keep you hidden for the time being."

"Fine." Klaus shook his head. "Enzo, you organize the plane. You have all of the required access."

"No problem." Enzo nodded, as he walked up to Damon's office bedroom to give him peace and quiet to make the call.

"And when we find them, what do we do?" Caroline asked. "Where is the real white oak stake. Clearly the one she used was the fake."

"Maybe the video footage will help?" Bonnie suggested. "See if she did a swap in here without Katherine or Hayley noticing."

Damon shook his head. "They'd know." he told her. "She must have hid it on her way to find Klaus."

"We need to find it!" Klaus said. "I suggest we split up and search all of the ways Elena could have gotten to me." he offered.

"I saw her walk from the office and over to Klaus!" Caroline folded her arms. "She didn't hide it anywhere between those two places. She either kept it on her..." she started.

"Which would be incredibly stupid." Damon grimaced.

Caroline raised an eyebrow at Damon for interrupting her. "Or, she hid it while she was with us." she smiled as she realized what had happened. "I think I know where it is." she told them.

"Where?" Damon asked.

"Under one of the chairs near where Klaus was sat." Caroline told them. "Probably yours." she clarified, looking at Damon. "She had to bend down as she broke the heel on her shoes."

"Well, why don't we go and find it." Damon rolled his eyes. "In fact, I'll go alone." he said, storming out of the office.

He strode off to the mezzanine area, needing a few moments to himself to gather his thoughts together. In the past couple of weeks, his life had been transformed, and now everything looked like it could lead to imminent death if he didn't find Elena. However, he knew they needed the stake as they were going to have to kill either Katherine or Mikael, or even both, and without the stake Mikael couldn't die.

Once there, Damon bent down and fished around under his chair, easily finding the white oak stake. He looked around him, making sure the club was empty of anything other then dead vampires and slipped it inside his jacket pocket before quickly returning to his office.

"Got it!" Damon proclaimed as he held it up for everyone to see.

"Now what?" Enzo asked, having returned from his phone call.

"You, Bonnie and Sheila need to go and see Jeremy. Get his blood." Damon told them. "You can do the spell from Mystic Falls, right?" he asked Sheila.

"Doesn't matter where we are, the spell will still work." Sheila confirmed.

"We need to get rid of the bodies." Klaus told them. "Any suggestions?"

"I say we set the club on fire." Vincent suggested. "That way it will look like an accident, and nobody will be able to confirm or deny your survival." he went on. "In the meantime, I can cloak you by making you look like someone else when we do find out where Elena is being kept."

"And what about Hayley?" Came a female voice, causing them all to turn around, only to find Rebekah and Marcel had joined them. "Elijah is going to either be furious if we don't tell him, or devastated to destruction if she dies."

"We don't know whether he is tied up with Katerina's plans, little sister." Klaus shook his head. "Hayley was clearly working with Katerina, thinking she would be able to end the hybrids, or at least have some control over them if Elena died."

"Only because of your lies." Damon said bitterly.

"How was I supposed to know the next Petrova doppelganger was going to be mated to one of my best friends?" Klaus asked. "The last one had to be used to make Katerina and Mikael think it was a necessity, so when the next one appeared, they would make their move." he sighed.

"And then the stars aligned and love was in the air." Damon shook his head. "Love that meant you were going to have to get your hands dirty." he smirked.

Klaus turned to Vincent. "So, you say you can cloak me as someone else. Any ideas as to who?" he asked.

"It has to be a vampire." Vincent explained. "A surviving vampire. None of the dead vampires here will work. But if something happens to you, that vampire's life will be tied to yours and you will both die." he told him.

"Fantastic." Klaus shook his head. "I'll just compel someone to let me do it." he sighed.

"No!" Caroline grabbed hold of him. "You can't compel this of anyone. You need to find someone who will do this for you voluntarily. Someone who trusts you'll get out of this alive." she insisted.

"Well, there aren't exactly many vampires left." Damon folded his arms. "Everyone here were in your inner circle and now they are dead."

"What about Stefan?" Enzo suggested. "I thought he was in love with Elena."

"He's mated." Damon told him.

"Surely he can trust Klaus to handle himself well enough not to get killed." Enzo asked.

"What about Marcel?" Damon suggested.

"I'm supposed to be dead from a werewolf bite." he smiled.

"And I'm going with you as me." Rebekah told them. "It leaves either Stefan or Valerie. And somehow I doubt they'd expect Valerie to get involved." she said.

"Fine." Damon sighed. "I'll asked him." he said as Enzo checked his watch.

"We need to go love." Enzo told Bonnie. "They said the plane would be ready in an hour, they're just refueling. We should be in Mystic Falls by morning." he said getting up. "Good luck. I'll call you tomorrow with the details and you can go save your girl." he smiled as Bonnie, Sheila and Enzo left to fly out to Mystic Falls.

"Now what?" Damon asked.

"We set the club on fire." Vincent told them. "I'll make sure it can't get out of control."

"It's a magical fire?" Damon raised and eyebrow.

"Of course." Vincent smiled. "But we all need to get to the underground parking lot first and leave, and make sure nobody sees Klaus, Caroline, Marcel or Rebekah." he told them. "I'll make it look like and electrical fire."

"And what am I supposed to do after?" Damon asked.

"Move somewhere quieter with your girl and raise your child somewhere safer than New Orleans." Klaus smiled. "But for now, go and get a car." he said.

"One car won't be enough." Damon shook his head. "Vincent, you can take Rebekah and Marcel while I take Klaus and Caroline. We'll all meet up at Klaus's place." he said.

Damon, followed by Vincent, left through the hidden door to the underground parking lot. Making sure nobody was around, he ushered in Klaus and Caroline, while as planned Vincent took the other car, where he was joined by Marcel and Rebekah. Before Vincent set off, he began to chant the spell, setting the inside of the club on fire. As they set off through the streets of the French Quarter, the smell of a burning building thickened the air, and sirens raced through the streets the opposite way.

A pang or sadness washed over Damon as he realized that was the last time he would see his club, The Underground ever again. The place where he met Elena would soon be a charred ruin. Taking a deep breath, not saying a word, he put his foot on the gas and sped towards Klaus's place, without daring to look back. He had just sacrificed everything for the girl he loved.


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

**I have made a minor alteration to the backstory of how Esther died. It makes more sense with my story.**

Elena opened her eyes to complete darkness and went to rub her neck, which was sore from the neck snapping, however she stopped when she realized she couldn't move her hands. Looking up, although it was dark, her vampire sight could barely make out the shackles she was attached to. She was sat, which was lucky as she felt oddly ill, feverish even. At first she couldn't remember why, then she realized Hayley, the traitorous bitch had bitten her.

She scanned the room, which turned out to seem more like a cell or basement, although she couldn't be entirely sure as everything seemed a little blurry, probably from the werewolf bite. Suddenly she picked up the sound of breathing. Elena focused in the direction of the sound, only to realize Hayley was also in the cell, oddly tied up.

"Finally, you're awake." Hayley said quietly.

"You bitch, you bit me!" Elena growled.

"No hard feelings." Hayley sighed. "It won't kill you." she said quietly.

"Werwolf bites kill vampires last time I checked." Elena snapped.

"Keep your voice down." Hayley whispered. "I had no choice." she said. "They kidnapped Hope."

"Hope?" Elena raised an eyebrow.

"My daughter." Hayley replied. "I only gave birth a few days ago and they took her while Elijah was visiting you to get your blood to turn me into a hybrid."

"Oh my god." Elena gasped. "I'm so sorry." she said truthfully.

"Don't worry." Hayley smiled. "You just be sick for a while. You'll be fine."

"How do you know?" Elena frowned.

"Just trust me." Hayley told her as Elena began to cough and splutter. "You've got a couple of days before it would kill you. It won't be pleasant, but you'll be okay. Other than that I can't say anything as ears above might be listening. So for the time being, just conserve your strength." she said and let me listen to what is going on above. My senses are slightly better than yours because I'm a hybrid. In fact, I can hear better than them." she smiled. "I'll know what they're really planning."

"Are you expecting to get us out of here?" Elena frowned.

"No, but I suspect we'll be rescued." Hayley nodded. "Did you hide it somewhere it could be found?" she asked.

"I did." Elena nodded. "But I'm not telling you where." she said.

"Good, don't." Hayley agreed. "They might be listening into our conversation." she said.

Suddenly pain washed through Elena. Her body began to spasm, and she began to sweat, and she screamed.

"I'm sorry for biting you." Hayley whispered as they heard footsteps approaching.

Damon, Klaus, Caroline, Vincent, Rebekah and Marcel all arrived at Klaus's apartment, only to find Elijah waiting for them. Forgetting he was an Original, Damon rushed forward and punched Elijah in the face. In response, Elijah simply removed his handkerchief from his jacket breast pocket, and wiped the blood from his nose.

"I'm not going to say I deserved that, but I understand it." Elijah replied, straightening his jacket.

"Hayley bit Elena!" Damon scowled.

"I know." Elijah nodded coolly. "Dont worry, she'll be fine." he smiled.

"She'll be dead in the next couple of days if we don't find her." Damon hissed.

"She won't." Elijah shook his head. "When Klaus gave me some of his blood to give to Hayley for the transition, we kept some back just in case of any accidental werewolf bites." he told them. "Hayley currently had some blood hidden on her, and as long as they are not separated, then she can give it to Elena." he said.

"Why did she betray us?" Klaus asked.

"She didn't." Elijah replied. "She put her own life at risk to get on the inside to help with killing Mikael and Katerina."

"Why?" Damon asked. "And aren't you supposed to be desperately ill from a werewolf bite?" he frowned.

"I was." Elijah nodded. "So much that when Hayley finally gave birth just after I took Elena's blood, I wasn't able to be there to witness the birth of my child. A child which Katerina and Mikael saw fit to kidnap within hours of being born. Hayley was powerless do anything about it, so she agreed to help them if they returned our child. But we knew they never would, so Hayley decided to infiltrate them. She promised to bite Elena to try and find a way lure you all out. Mikael wants all of us dead." he told them. "But we had a supply of Klaus's blood, therefore I was healed quite quickly. Unfortunately not quick enough to save my child from being kidnapped. He just wanted me out of the way so Elena could stake Klaus."

"But I thought he wanted the stake to be destroyed." Klaus frowned.

"Only after we have all been killed." Elijah told them. "Well, right now everyone apart from Kol. Right now Mikael fears Davina, but that will change when she turns. He promised to let them live their lives peacefully in San Francisco, as long as they never ventured near New Orleans again. If Kol has chosen to believe that, then he is an even bigger fool than I though." he shook his head. "But it is no longer relevant as everything is now going perfectly to plan." he smiled.

"Perfectly to plan?" Damon cocked his head. "How did you figure that one out?" he asked.

"Am I right to believe Katerina saw my brother being killed by the white oak stake?" Elijah frowned.

"He did." Klaus replied.

"And what of the body?" Elijah asked.

"I burned the club down." Damon sighed. "Easiest way to dispose of all of the dead bodies. Less questions to be asked." he said sadly.

"Perfect!" Elijah grinned. "Do you have the real stake?" he asked.

Damon pulled it out of his jacket and placed it on the table in front of him. Elijah picked it up and began to stroke it, leaving Damon to feel a little nervous at possibly showing his hand.

"I had a little visit dear brother." Elijah looked up at Klaus. "From a witch who claimed to be possessed by the spirit of our mother. She had some very interesting information to tell me." he said.

"How do you know she was telling the truth?" Klaus raised an eyebrow.

"Because she knew things only Esther could possibly know." Elijah replied. "She had some very interesting information regarding this particular white oak stake."

Klaus sat opposite his brother, with Caroline at his side. He nodded towards Damon and Vincent to join them, while Rebekah and Marcel had already made themselves comfortable.

"So, what did mother have to say?" Rebekah sighed.

"She wants us to kill Mikael with the stake." Elijah replied.

"Not surprised." Rebekah shook her head. "Father did rip her heart out."

"This stake is not the original stake and is not carved from the original great white oak tree." Elijah told them.

"So it is useless!" Klaus said.

"On the contrary brother." Elijah smiled. "It is from the sapling of the same tree, which grew on the same spot as the original stake. However there is a tiny difference. When the stake was created, another Petrova doppelganger had come into existence, however she had become a vampire. Therefore the magic adapted with the bloodline as it is tied to our creation. Only a vampire Petrova doppelganger can use it on an Original and destroy it."

"I thought it was a human doppelganger." Caroline frowned. "I'm confused." she shook her head.

"You are indeed correct my dear." Elijah smiled. "Only a human Petrova doppelganger could use and destroy the original stake as the Petrova doppelganger was human. When this stake was created in fifteen thirty eight, Katerina was a vampire and mated to Mikael. Therefore it would require a vampire to wield it as a human would be powerless. Elena, or Katerina have to be the one to destroy the stake. However I would prefer it to be Elena as I doubt Katerina would be willing to kill father." he said.

"And mother told you all of this?" Rebekah raised a cynical eyebrow as Elijah nodded. "And you believe her?"

"And why shouldn't I?" Elijah asked.

"Because she hates you and wants you all dead?" Marcel shrugged. "Call me cynical, but I can't see what she gets outta this deal."

"Revenge." Klaus told him. "Mikael killed my real father, who was my mother's mate, meaning my mother ended up committing suicide. Mikael knew what would happen if he killed him, but he didn't care."

"Why would he?" Rebekah spat. "He is a selfish man, only driven by pride."

"Well, it appears our mother wants revenge more than she wants us dead." Elijah said. "She said now we all have mates, she expects us to calm down and become responsible. More human. And as she doesn't believe our children should suffer, she is happy for us to continue our lives as long as we put them to good use."

"Don't you think that's a little optimistic?" Damon asked. "Rebekah isn't a mom."

"Actually that's not correct." Rebekah interrupted. "I had a son, many years ago. I still keep in contact with my descendants as a cousin or aunt." she smiled.

"I thought you couldn't." Damon frowned. "When?" he asked.

"Oh well before you arrived in New Orleans." Rebekah smiled. "It was back in the forties. My son is still alive, he turned after he'd had a family of his own. His daughter also turned when she'd had children, who are currently teenagers. They know their family are vampires, but the rule of thumb is to tell their friends their parents have a great cosmetic surgeon." she smiled.

"Can I just ask why we are here discussing this when we should be out looking for Elena." Damon shook his head.

"Do you know where Hayley and Elena are?" Elijah asked.

Damon's eyes fell to the floor. "No." he replied. "But I thought you might." he shrugged.

"I have no idea." Elijah shook his head. "Hayley has no living relatives other than our daughter, therefore we cannot do a locator spell on her. Elena on the other hand, still has living family. I hope you are using that to your advantage."

"Enzo, Bonnie and Sheila have left to go to Mystic Falls to get some blood from Jeremy to do the locator spell." Klaus told him. "We have about four hours to draw up a plan." he said.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Damon asked.

"We need to establish what they know." Klaus said. "For instance, right now, Mikael and Katerina think I am dead and also Rebekah and Marcel are at least out of commission."

"They also think I am suffering with a werewolf bite, which means, as far as they are concerned, I won't be of any help for another couple of days." Elijah smiled. "They've landed themselves very vulnerable."

"How do you call that vulnerable?" Damon asked. "They could kill the women we love." he frowned.

"Technically true." Elijah agreed. "But they need an insurance, which, Elena and Hayley currently provide. Although it is a somewhat temporary one. They don't think they have any of the Mikaelson Family to deal with. Kol has agreed to leave, Rebekah is daggered and her mate is suffering from a werewolf bite. I am also suffering from a werewolf bite and Klaus is dead. When in actual fact, myself, Klaus and Rebekah are perfectly healthy." he smiled.

"So if Mikael thinks he's taken the family down, then what is he waiting for?" Damon frowned.

"He wants to make sure there is nobody left to challenge him for New Orleans." Elijah told him. "While ever you are alive, the people of New Orleans will follow you as you are a known figure. Remember, it isn't only about the vampire population. We're talking about the entire supernatural community, vampires, witches, werewolves and humans too. They want it all. And as far as Mikael and Katerina are concerned, you and I currently stand in their way." he said.

"What do you suggest brother?" Klaus asked.

"Stealth." Elijah replied. "Do not let them know who they are up against."

"That's fine for one vampire, but if we need him to be dealing with all three of you then we need three vampires." Damon frowned.

"That is why I took a few liberties in your absence." Elijah smiled.

"Do you two plot alike?" Damon looked from Klaus to Elijah and back.

"After knowing someone for a thousand years, you do ten to have an idea of how the other one might be operating." Klaus nodded before turning to Elijah. "And where are these three vampires?" he asked.

Just at that moment, one of the bedroom doors opened and they were joined by Stefan and Valerie, who were smiling at each other and holding hands, until Stefan arrived at the wet bar and poured them both a glass of whiskey.

"Anyone else?" Damon asked.

"I contacted your friend Thierry." Elijah replied. "I hope you don't mind. He's mated with a witch and they are all terrified of Mikael taking over. He agreed to come see us." he said.

"Three regular vampires for three Originals." Rebekah smiled.

"And what about me?" Marcel folded his arms. "What am I supposed to do? Paint my toenails? I can't go with you, they think I'm dying." he said.

"Someone will need to protect the bodies." Vincent said. "If we are doing a body swap with three vampires, then it is going to take every ounce of magic I can give. They'll be vulnerable for a short while, until I can recover."

"Thierry is bringing his mate Katie with him." Elijah told Vincent. "Maybe the two of you will be a little more powerful and you can recover more quickly. The faster we are back in our real bodies, the better for it is everyone."

"How come she is still a witch?" Damon asked.

"A little magic can delay things." Valerie told them. "Which is another issue. I'm a siphoner, which means whoever inhabits my body, will also have the ability to do magic."

"I actually did study the art of witchcraft before mother turned us." Rebekah smiled. "I might be a little rusty, but I'm sure I can manage to do some minor spells." she said.

"Then Katie needs to help you with some small useful spells once you've taken over my body." Valerie nodded. "You will be the most powerful of the Original siblings. Whereas Stefan is the least powerful."

"That's cause he eats Bambi blood." Damon mocked.

"And will be rectified when I take his body." Klaus grinned.

"Stefan?" Damon frowned. "Will you be okay when you get your body back?" he asked. "I mean, if Klaus is feeding from human blood..." he started.

"Yeah I'll be fine." Stefan nodded.

"I've gone over it with him. He won't feel the cravings as he never consumed the blood. But his body will feel the effects afterwards. For a time he will be stronger." Valerie smiled, reassuringly running her hand down Stefan's arm.

Klaus clapped his hands together and jumped up. "So, lets get this over with." he said. "We might as well get this part done with now while we're waiting for Enzo and the Bennett witches to find out where Elena and Hayley are." he said.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Rebekah asked Vincent. "I mean transferring one vampire is hard, but you are transferring three." she said.

"I'd fueled up for last night." Vincent nodded. "I haven't done magic for a few days other than to make sure I had the power to take down anything. But as I was knocked out, I never had a chance to use it." he shrugged. "But a little vampire blood healing and I'm all fine. I'll need a few hours to recover from the original possession spell, but if we're going to have to get you all ready to fight in your other bodies, that gives me plenty of time to recover." he said.

"What happens to the spirits of the bodies who are being taken over?" Damon frowned.

"They will sleep throughout it all." Vincent explained. "I'll put them to sleep first to make it easier for them and for me, then I'll do the possession spell." he said as there was a knock at the door.

"Ah, that must be Thierry and his mate Katie." Klaus smiled. "Do come in." he called out as Thierry popped his head through the door, followed by a pretty young woman.

"Are we late?" Thierry asked, his voice sounding slightly nervous.

"Just in time mate." Klaus grinned. "I'm about to have a body swap with Stefan, while my sister will dive into Valerie, and Elijah will take over your body." he turned to Vincent. "Are you ready to start the spell?" he asked.

"I'm gonna need your blood for the unconscious bodies, to transfer your essence. It needs to be transferred using glass" Vincent told Klaus who walked over to the kitchen and opened a cupboard full of glass bottles. He pulled a number of them out and walked over to Vincent.

"Will that do?" Klaus asked with a smirk on his face.

"That'll be fine." Vincent smiled.

Klaus opened a drawer and pulled out some rubber tubes and needles. "I assume you'll need these." he said as Vincent nodded, taking them from Klaus.

"Now where do you want to do this?" Vincent asked. "Not sure about you, but I don't wanna be walking over the bodies of unconscious vampires." he said.

"For me, we'll use my room." Rebekah stated, turning to Valerie. "You follow me, we'll wait for them there." she said as Valerie kissed Stefan before following Rebekah through a door.

"Fine, I'll use my room for me." Klaus sighed. "Elijah can take the spare room." he said.

Damon got up and followed Klaus, Vincent and Stefan to Klaus's bedroom, which was surprisingly understated, yet tastefully decorated. There was a large four poster at one side of the room, covered with muslin, to keep the mosquitoes at bay. Although they didn't hurt vampires, it didn't stop them from being pests and for someone, even an immortal to not want to share a bed with them.

All of the materials in the bedroom felt earthy and natural. Damon suspected a feng shui expert might have had something to do with the décor as it felt soothing and relaxing. Damon knew Klaus was a fan of feng shui and his bedroom being decorated to incorporate that should have been no surprise. The whites of the linen and walls made it feel clean and crisp, contrasting with the dark wood and bamboo, along with the plants which adorned the room, made Damon feel very much at ease. Damon made a mental note to find out whoever had decorated this room as he might be inclined to hire them for his future home for him, Elena and their child, once they had done with all of this bullshit from Mikael and Katherine. A thought which brought him back to the reason they were there.

Klaus and Stefan both lay on Klaus's bed for Vincent to do the first spell. Firstly he placed his hands on Stefan's head, which resulted in Stefan closing his eyes, immediately falling asleep. Next he stuck the needle into Klaus's arm and withdrew blood, eventually filling a glass bottle of Klaus's essence. Next Vincent performed the same sleeping spell on Klaus, leaving both vampires completely immobilized on Klaus's bed.

"Good job we trust you." Damon smiled intimidatingly at Vincent.

"Look, the last thing I want is Mikael and Katherine taking over New Orleans. This is not just for Klaus, it is for the whole community." Vincent replied in a tone which suggested he wasn't impressed with Damon's non-accusatory accusation.

Damon raised his hands in mock surrender. "Look you do your job. I'm just looking out for the welfare of my little brother." he said as Vincent nodded before returning his attention back to Klaus and Stefan.

Next Vincent stuck a needle attached to the tube to feed Klaus's blood into him. He then put his hands on Stefan's head and began to chant.

" _Somno Ritum Per Dax Ritum."_ Vincent began to chant over and over again until a few moments later, Stefan opened his eyes.

"Stefan?" Damon frowned.

"Hello mate." Stefan's voice replied, although they were clearly not Stefan's words. "Try again." he grinned.

"Klaus?" Damon asked, stunned. He knew how the spell worked, but he had to admit, it was shocking seeing the living embodiment of Klaus in his brother's body.

"The one and only." Klaus frowned. "I'm fucking starving. How the hell does your brother survive on this animal crap?" he said sitting up and pulling the needle out of his arm, before turning to Vincent. "You done?" he asked, to which Vincent nodded. "Well then, you best hurry and put my brother and sister into their respective new bodies." he said. "Now let's get some proper food."

 


End file.
